Egyptian police searching for missing father and Irish boys after custody battle
Mohamed, Who Now Mandy Are Missing Zayn With Father Her Children, And Kareem Kelly With Their
Police in Egypt are searching for a man who has gone missing with his two Irish-born children after their mother won a landmark legal challenge in Cairo to have the boys returned to her in Ireland.
Mandy Kelly, aged 37 from Dundalk, has not been with her children for more than two years after their father kept them in Egypt.
Last month, she became the first Irish mother to launch a custody battle in a non-Hague compliant country after her estranged husband refused to return the children from Egypt.
This week, Egyptian prosecutors granted Ms Kelly full custody of her children.
However, Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed and some members of his family are now missing with the two boys.
Ms Kelly, who is currently in Cairo, told the : “While I’m grateful for An Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who is doing the right thing by my two sons, and for the Egyptian authorities for guiding me through the legalities of this horrendous ordeal, I plead for the sake of my two young sons that this ends soon.”
Ms Kelly has campaigned tirelessly for the return of her children since 2022.
Legal representatives for the Irish mother lodged an application to the family courts in Cairo after she exhausted all other avenues in her efforts to have her children returned to her.
Egypt is not signed up to the Hague Convention on child abductions, making it difficult to have the children brought home by the Irish State.
However, this week the Egyptian courts ordered the return of the two Kelly boys to their mother.
Ms Kelly's mediator Miceál O'Hurley, with Munster Mediation, said: “I’m very pleased Ms Kelly has won custody in the Egyptian courts, and she has an execution order to have the children placed into her custody.
“It is now up to Egypt, but the problem has never been with Egypt, they have been fast they have been fair, and have delivered their verdict for custody for Mandy in a very swift and efficient manner, they have treated her with respect.
"I have heard some criticism that it was subject to sharia law. I regret that outright, because shariah law has been nothing but respectful and helpful to Ms Kelly and in fact, it’s Egyptian law which has decided this case".
However, Mr O’Hurley said the issue now is the whereabouts of Ms Kelly’s estranged husband and their two children are unknown.
“The Egyptian government now has to find the children," he said.
“As soon as the children are found, they should be placed in my client’s custody and care — and we look forward to that.
“We are extremely grateful for An Tánaiste Micheál Martin for his extraordinary reach out to the Egyptian government by phone call last week.
“He has been very helpful in breaking the logjam. We anticipate that it will help us execute the order for custody and see Mandy reunited with her children after so very long."