Irish mum prepares for court battle in Cairo to get her children back from their father
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An Irish mother of two children who were abducted by their father while on a family holiday in Egypt is set to take a landmark case in Cairo in September seeking their return to her care.
37-year-old Mandy Kelly from Dundalk has not seen her sons in two years, after their father locked her in an apartment and took them from her while they were in Cairo in February 2022.
Zayn Mohamed, 5, and his three-year-old brother Kareem, were born in Ireland.
However, during a visit to Egypt to see their grandmother their father, Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed, took them away in a car and left their mother behind.
She has been waging a campaign since then to get them back.
Egypt is not a signatory of the Hague Convention on child abductions, which makes Ms Kelly’s case more challenging.
She told the she is now taking her plight to the family courts in Cairo. It will be the first of its kind from a Irish parent.
“The papers are already lodged; we are due to go to court in September,” she said. “There have been delays in the case and the Egyptian legal system is slow.
“The case was lodged in April, and I was given two days’ notice to be in court on April 11, but it has since been adjourned until September 4."
If successful in seeking the return of her children, Ms Kelly’s case could set a precedent for other similar cases.
"I’m physically and mentally exhausted, I’ve my work and my case to get my children back going on in my life and that’s it. That takes up every bit of my time."
International and domestic arrest warrants have been issued for Mr Mohamed so far.
However, Ms Kelly said her two sons’ Irish passports have not been cancelled by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“I am adamant that when I am there in Cairo I won’t be departing without my children, and I want him arrested for what he did.”
Ms Kelly has already raised her case “with every politician in Ireland” including Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Justice Minister Helen McEntee — and more recently she handed Taoiseach Simon Harris a letter with her concerns.
“My ex has offered to let me talk to the children via zoom every Sunday after 4pm. I’ve consulted with child psychologists here and that is a bad idea. It would be too stressful for the children, they have not seen me in two years.
“He even refused to have the welfare check conducted in the children’s home there and said his mother is doing most of the work — that is wrong. So I don’t even know where they live."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it “is aware of the case and has provided extensive consular assistance, and continues to do so. As with all consular cases, the department does not comment on the detail of individual cases".