Elise André incident
The Elise André incident is a tug-of-war of kidnappings of the three-year-old girl Elise André-Belenkaya (Russian: Элиза Андре Беленькая) in a dispute between her parents, father Jean-Michel André and mother Ирина Беленькая, over child custody during 2007–2009.[1] The girl was abducted and moved across the border at least three times since parents' divorce in 2007.[2]
Both parents were granted custody rights from their own countries.[3] In 2009 there were about 50 child custody disputes between Russia and France. The case of Elise is aggravated by the fact that Russia is not a signatory of the 1980 Hague convention on civil aspects of child abduction, used to resolve similar cases.[2]
The last kidnapping (by mother) was stopped in Nyíregyháza, Hungary in April 2009 and in May the Hungarian court decided that the mother be extradited to France[4]
In 2012 the mother was facing a three-year suspended sentence from a French court in Tarascon for double abduction, in November 2007 and in March 2009.[3][5] Mother's lawyer asked for a suspended sentence.[6] Eventually she received two years of sentence suspended for five years.[7] The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs concluded that the decision of the French court had been balanced.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Ярослав ГОРБАНЕВСКИЙ, "Родители, будьте людьми! возьмите себя в руки!" Archived 2024-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Lizzy Davies, Snatched toddler returns to France with father, The Guardian, 14 Apr 2009
- ^ a b French Prosecutor Requests 3-Year Suspended Sentence for Russian Mother, The Moscow Times, October 30, 2012 (Original url Archived 2024-05-31 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ "Hungarian court orders Elise's mother to be extradited to France". 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
- ^ "Французский прокурор потребовал три года условно для Ирины Беленькой". 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
- ^ "Адвокат Ирины Беленькой просит суд вынести ей условный приговор". 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
- ^ "Ирина Беленькая получила два года условно". 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
- ^ Comment of Information and Press Department of MFA of Russia in view of French court's decision concerning Irina Belenkaya, November 2, 2012