Legal News
Manchester mother who abducted sons five years ago arrested and charged in Canada (17 August 2015)
Date: 17/08/2015
A mother who abducted her two sons and threatened to take them back to her home country of Somalia five years ago has been arrested in Canada.
Manchester Evening News reports that Toronto Police’s fugitive squad arrested Anisa Ibrahim, 35, after an international search, which ended when she was found living with her sons Khalid and Ahmed under assumed names in Hamilton, Ontario.
Police said a tip-off led them to the address in Hamilton – and Ibrahim has now been charged with unlawful abduction and disobeying a court order.
In a statement, Toronto Police said:
“On Thursday, August 13 2015, members of the Toronto Police Fugitive Squad – assisted by The Missing Children Society of Canada – arrested international fugitive Anisa Mohamed Ibrahim, 35.
“She was wanted for unlawful abduction of her two sons and disobeying a court order in Manchester, England.
”It is alleged that she fled England with her two young sons – travelling to Germany, before entering Canada in April 2010.
“The Toronto Fugitive Squad has been working with the Greater Manchester Police in England and the Missing Children Society of Canada since shortly after their arrival in Canada.
“The Toronto Fugitive Squad has followed up on many tips over the years. Last week, information was received that Anisa Mohamed Ibrahim and her two sons may be residing in Hamilton, Ontario.
“Investigative checks revealed that she and her sons were using new names and living in the Main Street and Ferguson Avenue South area of Hamilton, Ontario.
“On Thursday, August 13, 2015, under the strength of an extradition warrant, Anisa Mohamed Ibrahim, 35, was taken into custody. She is scheduled to appear in court at the Superior Court of Justice in Hamilton on Friday, August 14, 2015.
“The two sons are in the care of Children’s Aid and are doing well.”
In 2011, the boys’ father, Abdul Abubakar, 45, had claimed a wall of silence in Manchester’s Somali community was preventing the police from finding his two sons.
The couple are both originally from Somalia and met in Manchester – they married in 2004, but divorced in 2007. Their two sons were at the centre of a three-year court battle over access.
In 2009, Mr Abubakar was granted access to his son by the family courts – but by leaving Manchester with the two children without consulting the children’s father, Ibrahim breached a family court order and prompted an international manhunt.
Duncan Lewis Family Solicitors
Duncan Lewis family solicitors can advise on a wide range of child care and family matters, including international child abduction cases and child care arrangements after separation, divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.
There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – and Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of Legal Aid solicitors able to advise on family law and child care matters under UK law and Islamic law.
For expert legal advice on child care and family law, call Duncan Lewis family solicitors on 020 7923 4020.
For cases where a child may be at immediate risk of international child abduction, call the Duncan Lewis Emergency Hotline on 020 7275 2036.