The annual report of the Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales will show a further rise in international child abduction cases.

This increase is in line with figures from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office last December, which revealed an 88 per cent increase in parental child abduction cases over the last decade. The FCO receives four calls a day to its specialist advice line – more than half of which are new cases.

Next week’s report is likely to raise questions about why international child abductions are on the increase and what more can be do to help distraught parents whose children are taken from them.

The issue goes to the heart of the plight of six year old Elsa who was abducted by Naomi’s estranged husband Tamer Salama in December 2011 during a family visit to Egypt. He remains in jail in the UK for failing to disclose where his daughter is hidden.

In the countdown to Elsa’s sixth birthday on 2 February 2013, Naomi launched a social networking campaign comprising a dedicated Facebook Page and Twitter account – @BringElsaHome – in the hope that someone, somewhere might come forward with information to help find Elsa and bring her home.

Naomi’s appeal received widespread coverage across TV channels including BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV This Morning, Channel 4, Channel 5 and BBC News 24 and national press including The Telegraph and The Independent. Our local press and radio / TV stations ITV Calendar, Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Evening Post, BBC Look North, Radio Aire and BBC Radio Leeds also gave their full support to Naomi’s campaign. Local news agency Ross Parry played a key role in spreading Naomi’s story to newspaper readers across the UK and secured a major feature in Bella Magazine.

Since its launch in January the Bring Elsa Home campaign has attracted thousands of likes on Facebook, hundreds of followers on Twitter and, most importantly, attracted the support of political heavyweights. Naomi’s own MP Rachel Reeves took the case to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office while the European Parliament’s child mediator Roberta Angelilli is working on Naomi’s case following the intervention of Edward McMillan-Scott, MEP for Yorkshire and Humber (Liberal Democrat).

Child abduction specialist, Kate Banerjee, who heads the Jones Myers children’s department said: “The findings of the Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales will undoubtedly raise questions about why international child abductions are on the increase – and what more can be do to help distraught parents whose children are taken from them.

“Behind these cold and worrying statistics lie heart wrenching stories like Naomi’s and other clients who call on the expertise of our child abduction team. If you are concerned that your child may be at risk of abduction then contact the police immediately and seek legal advice.”

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Mr McMillan-Scott gave his full support to Naomi’s campaign to find her daughter Elsa Salama after seeing her story on television. He met the Italian MEP in Strasbourg to brief her on the case, which has captured the hearts and minds of the British public and media.

Ms Angelilli and Mr McMillan-Scott, who are both Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, are using their political weight to help in the search for Elsa, who was abducted in December 2011 by her father Tamer Salama during a family visit to Egypt.

Roberta Angelilli is writing to the Egyptian Ambassador in London as well as the Egyptian Ambassador to the EU to highlight Naomi’s plight. Together with Mr McMillan-Scott she is taking Elsa’s case to the European Commission.

Father and grandfather, Mr McMillan-Scott explains: “I’m a regular visitor to Egypt and have good contacts there, as well as with the EU officials dealing with Egypt.

“I have for many years campaigned to improve rights for children across Europe. I have taken up several cases of cross-border child abduction and promote a Missing Child hotline for Europe, as well as an expert centre to focus the EU on child rights.

“In cases of cross-border parental child abduction, coordination between the involved states as well as mediation is vital. I hope that by raising Elsa’s case at an EU level we can help act as the intermediary between the UK and Egyptian parties involved. The Mediator of the European Parliament – a mother herself – can offer a human solution to human cases and render support to getting Elsa home with her mother where she belongs.”

Naomi’s plight hit the headlines following a High Court ruling that her estranged husband Tamer Salama, 35, will remain behind bars for failing to disclose where his daughter Elsa is hidden.  Her campaign has also received support from her MP Rachel Reeves who met Alistair Burt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to seek further help from the Foreign Office to step up the search for Elsa.

Media interest in Naomi’s campaign continues with an exclusive interview for a women’s magazine due out next week.  Phenomenal support for the campaign on social media has brought more than 4,300 ‘likes’ on Naomi’s ‘Bring Elsa Home’ Facebook Page and several hundred people are following her Twitter account @BringElsaHome.

About the European Parliament Mediator

The post of the European Parliament Mediator for International Parental Child Abduction was created in 1987 in order to help children from binational marriages that have broken down who have been abducted by one or other parent.

Roberta Angelilli was appointed EP Mediator in 2009. The role of the Mediator is to try to find a voluntary agreement between the abducting parent and the other parent, the best interests of their child(ren) always being paramount.

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In response to phenomenal support from the public and offers of financial help in the search for her daughter Elsa, our client Naomi Button’s has launched  a “Bring Elsa Home’’ Fundrazr Account this week to enable people to make financial donations if they wish.

These funds will be invaluable to widen the search in Egypt – enabling Naomi to fund investigations, pay search costs and cover the costs of media coverage in Egypt.  Donators will be updated regularly on how the funds are being used. In the event that there are funds remaining once Elsa has been returned home safely it is intended that those funds will be used to help locate other missing children who find themselves in a similar position to Elsa.

Elsa Salama turned six on 2 February and Naomi faces a second year without her daughter who was abducted by her father during a family holiday in Egypt in December 2011.  Tamer Salama remains in a UK jail for failing to reveal his daughter’s whereabouts.

Media interest in Naomi’s campaign continues with an exclusive interview for a women’s magazine due out later this month and interest from a national radio station.

Support for the campaign on social media continues to grow. There are now 3,500 ‘Likes’ on Naomi’s ‘Bring Elsa Home’ Facebook Page and several hundred people following her Twitter account @BringElsaHome.

Naomi’s campaign has also received support from Rachel Reeves, MP for Bramley, Leeds who met Alistair Burt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to seek further help from the Foreign Office to step up the search for Elsa.

Increase in parental child abduction cases

Sadly, cases of parental child abduction are on the increase. The Foreign Office’s Child Abduction Section is receiving an average of four calls per day and at Jones Myers, we are receiving an average of one enquiry per week.

Naomi’s plight has brought messages and social media posts from parents concerned about their own children –  these tips and advice from Kate Banerjee, head of our Children Department and a Member of the Child Care Panel, may help those concerned that their child is at risk.

Kate has a wealth of experience in representing parents, guardians, Local Authorities and children – here are some of her preventative tips

• Apply to the Court for a Prohibited Steps Order (PSO); this prevents either parent from taking their children to any specific events or any trips without the express permission of the other parent.
• Ensure that contact is supervised and in extreme cases, you may wish to stop contact altogether
• Keep passports safe and consider depositing them with a solicitor
• Contact the Passport Agency and ask them to block the other parent from applying for a new passport
• Notify the school about who is allowed to collect your child from school
• If you receive a threat of child abduction or if your child has been abducted: Contact the police immediately who can issue a port alert to airports and ferry terminals – A recent photo of your child and the other parent and details of the airport or destination you think they may be heading to will help the police to focus their search.
• Contact Reunite, the UK’s International Child Abduction Charity which operates a 24 hour emergency helpline 0116 2556234
• Seek legal advice immediately

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