You may have seen our client Naomi Button propelled back into the media spotlight this week on her tenacious campaign to find her daughter Elsa Salama, abducted in Egypt in December 2011.

Naomi and I were invited to participate in media interviews to coincide with a report highlighting a 40 per cent increase over the last year in global family disputes, including kidnapping of children by a parent. The report was published by the Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales which is brought in to help deal with international family disputes, including some abduction and child custody cases. The office handled three new cases in its first year in 2005, increasing to 65 in 2008, 180 in 2011 and 253 in 2012.

The renewed media interest in Naomi’s case followed the initial publicity in January this year – which revealed how six year old Elsa was abducted by her father Tamer Salama during a family trip to Egypt.

The plight of cases such as Elsa’s highlighted the human heartbreak behind the annual report. We are hugely grateful to Clive Coleman, the BBC’s Legal Correspondent, BBC News, BBC News online, Sky News, ITV’s Daybreak, BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC Radio 5 Live Victoria Derbyshire Show, Frances Gibb, legal correspondent at The Times, BBC Radio Leeds and Radio Aire for helping to further boost awareness of the challenges facing Naomi in her campaign to bring Elsa home to Leeds.

As specialists in all areas of family law, at Jones Myers we are well aware of this significant rise in parental child abductions. The increase in International marriages and relationships – coupled with the high rate of family separation – means that we often see cases of parental child abduction when there is a family breakdown and one parent or the other may return to their home country.

It was heartening to hear Lord Justice Thorpe, co-author of the report, calling for wider judicial communication and I support his call to encourage more countries to sign up to the Hague Convention which brings reciprocal judiciary arrangements whereby judges in each country will communicate to help return children. Recent good news has seen Pakistan’s interim law minister indicate that the government plans to ratify the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. This is a positive step forward for the return of children from a country that has one of world’s highest rates of child abduction.

While The Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales has been able to help some parents, the annual report highlights the challenges that others like Naomi face when a child is abducted to a country outside of the Hague Convention.

Egypt – like half of the world’s countries – is not a signatory to the Hague Convention.  Despite having a custody order in Egypt and an order in England and Wales for the return of Elsa to her mother, Elsa’s whereabouts remain unknown.  We do not have the benefit of this judicial collaboration and assistance where a judge in England could call a judge in Egypt to help find Elsa and return her to Naomi.

Naomi’s plight has brought messages and social media posts from parents concerned about their own children. Here are some of my 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.

The post Bring Elsa Home – the heartache caused by child abduction appeared first on Jones Myers.

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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Naomi’s plight has hit the headlines following a High Court ruling that her estranged husband Tamer Salama will remain behind bars for failing to disclose where his daughter is hidden. The judge also gave the go ahead for global publicity in the hope that Elsa will be returned to Naomi who lives in Bramley, Leeds.

In the countdown to Elsa’s 6thbirthday on 2 February, Naomi has launched a social networking campaign comprising a dedicated Facebook Page and Twitter account – @BringElsaHome – in the hope that someone, somewhere may come forward with information be able to ascertain her whereabouts.

Length and breadth of support

Our grateful thanks go out to the public and media who are supporting Naomi’s campaign to Bring Elsa Home.

Naomi’s appeal is receiving widespread coverage across TV channels including BBC Breakfast, Sky News, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV 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 are behind the appeal and are running stories about Elsa’s abduction. We must also give huge thanks to local news agency for their key role in spreading Naomi’s story to newspaper readers across the UK.

As a result of this tremendous coverage and support we are receiving e-mails offering help which we deeply appreciate.

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.

Below is Naomi’s story, which will resonate with parents everywhere. It is followed by tips and advice from our children’s department for anyone concerned that their child could be at risk.

Who to contact

Anyone with information about Elsa should ring the following numbers: within the UK dial 101 and ask to speak to Leeds District Safeguarding Unit at West Yorkshire Police and if dialling from outside the UK the number is 00 44 192 437 5222.

Naomi’s story – the abduction

As Naomi Button faces a second year without her daughter, Elsa Salama affectionately nicknamed as a “mummy’s girl”, her estranged husband – Egyptian born Tamer Salama, 35, – remains behind bars in England for refusing to comply with court orders to return Elsa to her mother.

Naomi, 39 from Bramley, Leeds, has not seen or heard from Elsa since she was abducted by Salama from the seaside resort of Sharm El Sheikh on 27 December 2011 while on a holiday to visit her paternal family in Egypt.

Naomi has a custody order in Egypt, the support of the Child Abduction Section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is backed by her MP Rachel Reeves.

High Court judge labels abduction as ‘gross act’

Only last week Naomi’s plight was reinforced in the High Court in London.

On sentencing Tamer Salama to a further 12 months in jail for his continuing failure to comply with court orders to return his daughter to her mother, His Honour Mr Justice Cobb said that Elsa was being deprived of the “love and care” of her mother “in circumstances where I am satisfied that her father has it in his power to achieve the restoration of her relationship”.

Mr Justice Cobb told the court that Salama had failed to return Elsa to the jurisdiction of England and Wales – as well as failing to give any information about the child’s whereabouts or provide any form of contact between the girl and her mother.

The Judge added that when Tamer Salama deprived Elsa of the love of her mother and arranged for her to be in the care of his own family that was a gross act that undoubtedly justified the most serious punishment available to the court.

Salama has been behind bars since early January 2012, having returned to the UK to launch a smear campaign against Naomi following the abduction.

At the initial sentencing handed down to Salama in March 2012 His Honour Mr Justice Mitchell said it was beyond his comprehension that as a human being and a father who loved his child Salama could place Elsa outside the reach of any form of communication. He continued, “It is unspeakably harmful to the emotional welfare of your daughter. It shows me that you are a man with a hard heart, determined only to get your own way.”

The plea from Naomi and her lawyers

Naomi has no information about Elsa’s whereabouts and does not have any proof that she is alive and well. Salama says that Elsa was moved from Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo by Elsa’s grandmother (who speaks no English) but neither Salama nor his extended family has provided any information as to her exact whereabouts.

Kate Banerjee says: “Elsa was abducted by her father in Egypt on 27 December 2011. He has consistently refused to reveal her whereabouts, although we believe she is still in Egypt.

“Elsa is without the love and care of either a mother or father in a country where she doesn’t speak the language or understand the culture. We appeal to anyone who knows Elsa’s whereabouts to just pick up the phone and help us return this little girl to her mother.”

Naomi says: “To snatch Elsa away from me was the cruellest thing anyone could do. For the family to hide her and prevent her from having any contact with me and prevent any information being released is devastating and I appeal from the bottom of my heart to Tamer’s family to please give her back to me. All they need to do is to make one phone call to the British Embassy.

“I know that Elsa will be desperately missing her mum, her friends and her home – not to mention her pet cats Buzz and Junior. I cannot imagine what she must be going through. Elsa could never bear being apart from me for even a moment; she is very much a mummy’s girl. The anguish I have suffered over the last thirteen months has been almost unbearable at times.”

Advice from our children’s department

Understanding of parental child abduction is alarmingly low and cases can take years to resolve. The situation is made more difficult if a child is taken to a country that has not signed the Hague Convention, an international agreement between certain countries which aims to ensure the return of a child who has been abducted by a parent.

If you are concerned that your child may be at risk, here are some preventative steps to consider:

• 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. Recent photos of your child and the other parent, together with details of the airport or destination you think they may be heading, will help the police to focus their search
• Contact Reunite, the UK’s International Child Abduction Charity which operates a 24 hour emergency helpline.
• Seek legal advice immediately.

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