A High Court judge has taken the unusual step of naming a British girl kidnapped by her father and taken abroad in a bid to return home.
Five-year-old Elena Smolik was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual-national father, Rastislav, 33, and has not been seen since, leaving her mother, Wiem Bejaoui, heartbroken.
Despite repeated attempts to contact her daughter, Wiem, 26, has not been able to speak to her since October and Smolik’s relatives say they have no idea where she is.
At a High Court hearing, Mr Justice Francis allowed the parties to be named and said in his five-page ruling that this was a “very serious case of child abduction” and added that he believed it was “planned”.
He continued: “It is appalling, it is terrible that the mother is deprived of her child, but even worse that the child is deprived of his mother.”
Judge Francis added: ‘I don’t know what your family or friends know or have told you.
“I would like to think that most sensible people would be horrified at the idea of a father keeping his daughter in a foreign country, which is, after all, what Slovakia is for Elena.
“I hope that her father will be persuaded, even embarrassed, to accept Elena’s return to this country, this country being Elena’s country of habitual residence.”
Smolik, five, was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual-national father Rastislav, 33, and has not been seen since leaving her heartbroken mother Wiem Bejaoui, 26.
Five-year-old Elena Smolik was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual-national father, Rastislav, 33.
Elena is pictured riding a pink scooter.
The ruling described how Smolik and Wiem, who have permission to remain in Britain, met in 2018 on social media, then married and Elena was born in London in 2019.
Four years later, the relationship began to break down and in October last year, hospitality worker Smolik said he would take Elena to visit relatives in Slovakia.
Wiem, born in Tunisia, agreed to a brief visit during the middle of the semester, but on the day Elena was due to return, Nov. 1, her husband called and said they were delayed because he had “lost” their daughter’s passport.
But since then, she has not even spoken to her daughter and all attempts to contact Smolik through relatives she knows have been blocked.
Breaking down in tears, Wiem told MailOnline: “The last time I heard from Elena was in November when she told me about the passport and then the next day her father messaged me and said he wanted to stay here and then blocked me .
‘I called his sister, his brother, his parents, all his family that I know and they don’t want to talk to me, they ignore my questions about Elena.
“I don’t think he lost his passport so I called the police and they said they would go to the apartment and found his father who said he was in the UK living with his wife and daughter, which is not true.” . .
‘They were lying, I know he is still in Slovakia with Elena, they live in a rural place in the mountains, very easy to hide and I don’t know how she is doing or even if she goes to school.
‘It’s been very hard for me, I just want Elena to come back, I try not to cry but it’s not easy, it was her birthday a few days ago and you don’t know how hard it was.
‘I miss her a lot, she is very talkative and is always by my side, without her with me, life is very hard, she needs me and I want her back.
Amy Rowe, of Dawson Cornwell, representing Wiem, said: “This is a serious case of child abduction, and parents often do not appreciate the devastating effect that abduction has on a child, particularly if they are prevented from seeing and talk to the other parent.
‘There is an international consensus that it is necessary to protect children from the harmful effects of parental abduction by their prompt return to their country of origin, where the courts are in a better position to make decisions about their future.
‘Wiem cannot afford to hire a lawyer in Slovakia to initiate a process for Elena’s return, and we understand that no legal assistance is available.
‘It is extremely difficult for parents to navigate the legal process themselves, particularly when they do not speak the language or understand the legal process in a foreign country.
‘We echo Wiem’s calls for Rastislav Smolik to return Elena to England.
“If you believe there are reasons why Elena should be moved to live in Slovakia, then you should present the case appropriately to the English Family Court.”
Smolik’s passport is seen in this image with details redacted.
Michael Polak, a solicitor at Church Court Chambers and director of Justice Abroad, who is also representing the mother, said: “It is impossible to understand the pain and confusion that the current situation must be causing Elena, who was living happily with her mother. in London”. before being suddenly unjustly detained in Slovakia.
‘Kidnapping Elena is already shocking, but completely denying her contact and her mother’s love is abhorrent.
‘The father’s actions in this case, of taking a child abroad with permission, but then keeping him there without it, are a clear breach of the English Court’s orders relating to Elena’s care.
‘Unfortunately, unlawful detainer is not a crime under British law, and consideration should be given to changing this to help prevent further cases like this.
‘Anyone with information about Elena’s location is asked to contact us confidentially to help put an end to this nightmare for both mother and child.
“We have asked the Metropolitan Police to request the issuance of an INTERPOL yellow notice for Elena as a missing person, as this could result in the girl being quickly located.”
Wiem has created a crowdfunding page to help pay for her fight to get her daughter back.
The details are here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/zgbp47-help-me-get-my-father-back?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&attribution_id=sl:dcd0c37d-d82e-40ea- 97ce-5829ec0a7701
