A woman in her 40s has been sentenced in the Gulating Court of Appeal to four years in prison for abducting her two children to Yemen. The woman has also been sentenced to pay NOK 100,000 in compensation to the father of the children. One of the children was an infant, the other was of kindergarten age when they were abducted in 2009. Both children are Norwegian citizens, and it was the children’s father who had parental responsibility. – This is a historically severe punishment. In the prosecution’s opinion, there are no mitigating circumstances, says State Attorney Rudolf Christoffersen. State prosecutor Rudolf Christoffersen calls it a historically severe punishment. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news He particularly highlights the fact that the mother left the children in Yemen, to return to Norway herself. Christoffersen also adds that there is no comparable case law in Norway – We have never had such serious child abduction cases. Legal aid attorney: – Great burden – We are of course satisfied that the Court of Appeal also believes in the father, and that they disregard the allegations that he has participated in it or accepted it, says Stian Smidesang, who is the legal aid attorney for the father of the child. The woman was sentenced to four years in prison and to pay NOK 80,000 in compensation in Hordaland district court in May this year. The woman herself appealed the case to the Gulating Court of Appeal. Now she has been sentenced to pay a higher compensation sum to the child’s father. The legal aid lawyer says that the child’s father still feels the case is a big burden, 13 years later. – It is something he carries with him every single day, that there are two children who are missing. He has chosen to move from Bergen because of this matter here. It overshadowed everything. Smidesang says his client has given clear notice that he is moving back to Bergen as soon as the children are back. WAR: The Houthi movement in action outside Marib in Yemen in March 2021. Photo: AFP – The worst place in the world for children to grow up Since 2014, Yemen has been in a bloody civil war. At least 377,000 people have lost their lives since the civil war began, both due to hostilities, hunger and disease, according to the UN. In a report, news described the conditions in the country. Around 4 million have fled their homes. There are several thousand child soldiers in the country. – Yemen is the worst place in the world for children to grow up in, said Jean-Yves M. Gallardo, information director at Unicef to news. The daughter does not want the mother to receive a prison sentence. The father of the child is currently in contact with his daughter, who is the eldest child. She and her brother do not live together. Although he has some contact, he only knows that the two children are in Aden in Yemen. Beyond that, he knows little. He himself relayed his daughter’s wish to the court; namely that the mother should not be imprisoned. The court could not grant the appeal not to sentence the mother to prison, says Smidesang. He adds that they will continue to work to get the children home, but that this is challenging because Yemen is a country that is difficult to work with. State Attorney Christoffersen adds that the woman has not made it possible with cooperation. – She has not given us any opportunity to get into a position to cooperate with Yemen. We have not received information about the whereabouts of the children, or the identity of those who have the children. The children have also been in Yemen for so long that practical things like getting them a passport are challenging. Nevertheless, the legal aid attorney and the child’s father do not give up. – It has been 13 years without being able to do it. It is difficult, but we must have hope, says Smidesang.
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