Authorities deny mothers’ claims of forced abduction of young sons

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Child welfare authorities have categorically denied allegations of a mother claiming to have witnessed the “forced” abduction of two of her children following a family court decision to restore relations with the father of the miners.

Child welfare official Steve Libreri denied allegations made by the mother last month in a court protest filed by her lawyer, describing how two of her four boys, aged seven and 11, gave her were kidnapped by agency officials. by means of “great force”.

The intervention follows a family court decision to change the boys’ residence, allowing them to spend time with the father who had long been estranged from the children who refused to live with him.

The couple had been locked in an acrimonious, multi-year separation battle involving a succession of experts who had been mandated by the court to assess the situation and develop a tailor-made plan to protect the well-being of the children.

In the meantime, the father also appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, obtaining a judgment upholding his claims of parental alienation and awarding damages not only to himself but also to each of his sons.

All of the experts involved in the family court dispute pointed out that the mother had “greatly damaged” relations between the minors and her ex-husband, Libreri observed in the counter-demonstration refuting the woman’s claims.

Had she complied with expert advice, the court-ordered change of residence “could possibly have been avoided”.

In addition, in her legal protest, the mother failed to mention that there had been a previous unsuccessful attempt to transfer the two boys to their father’s home.

On August 13, a team of experts had resorted to every psychological tactic imaginable in an attempt to calmly cajole the boys into going to their father’s house, but ultimately gave up after a futile six-hour feat.

Four days later, experts again sought to persuade the two boys to get out of their mother’s car.

The woman herself “categorically refused” to cooperate, said Libreri, who had personally attended the operation.

It was only after three hours of verbal persuasion that was going nowhere, that the decision was finally made to “physically” remove the boys from the car, kicking and biting the pros all along. .

It should be emphasized that such “strong resistance” was to be expected after years of alienation, the agency official said, adding that it was ultimately in the best interests of the miners “to learn the truth about their father and to reestablish relations with him “. .

Parental alienation was a form of child abuse, violating children’s rights as protected by the United Nations Convention, the counter-demonstration reads.

Still, the mother insisted on making derogatory comments about the allegations against her, masquerading as the victim.

She chose not to cooperate with the professionals appointed by the court and left the court with no other choice but to order the transfer of the minors to the father’s home.

After this episode, the two boys quickly calmed down and their relationship with the father was already showing signs of improvement, we learned in court.

In her legal protest, the mother also claimed that she had no news of her sons but failed to mention that following their removal she had disconnected her phone.

An email sent to her by a child psychologist was marked as read but went unanswered.

In light of such circumstances, the Child Protection Directorate categorically denied all the allegations made by the mother, refuting her allegations regarding the unprofessional handling of the situation and any failure on the part of those involved to protect the children. best interests of minors.

The names of both parents have been withheld to protect the children.

Lawyer Daniela Azzopardi Bonanno signed the counter-demonstration.

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