Abducted kids’ mum11 glad to finally meet ‘horrified’ minister
Mandy hasn’t seen boys since dad kidnapped them in Egypt 2yrs ago
AN Irish mother whose two children were abducted by their Egyptian father said she is “appreciative” Justice Minister Helen Mcentee finally had a meeting with her.
Mandy Kelly, who is from Monaghan but lives in Louth, hasn’t seen her two young boys Zayn, five, and three-yearold Kareem in over two years.
Her ex-partner Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed locked her in an apartment while they were on holiday in Cairo in 2022 and kidnapped the children, who are Irishborn citizens.
Mandy said her ex-partner has requested €500,000 for the return of her children, and she has spent around €35,000 in legal fees trying to get them back.
The 38-year-old has not seen or heard from her babies since they were abducted and has been pleading with the Irish Government to intervene for the past two years.
In a letter seen by the Irish Mirror, Minister Mcentee told Mandy two months ago that while her department is aware of the case, they can only assist in those where children have been removed from this jurisdiction to a country that has signed up to the 1980 Hague Convention, and Egypt has not.
The Hague Convention on Child Abductions is a multilateral treaty that provides an expeditious method to return a child who was wrongfully taken by a parent from one country to another.
Mandy reported the shocking kidnapping of her children to Dundalk Garda station and has been waiting since 2022 for the Director of Public Prosecutions to issue an International Arrest Warrant for his arrest.
Minister Mcentee finally agreed to meet with Mandy yesterday and the heartbroken mother said the politician was “horrified” by her situation. She said: “I had quite a few hurdles to go through to secure the meeting and I felt it very important that she heard my story.
“I am incredibly appreciative of the fact that she could see the elements that other officials have ignored such as the fact that my children and I were basically human trafficked out of the country for the proceeds of a crime.
“She was horrified with the fact that there was a cash ransom on my children and the lengths that I have had to go to to get this far.”
The mother said Minister Mcentee agreed to “address the issue” that there is no bilateral treaty on child abductions between Ireland and Egypt.
If one was in place that could help bring Mandy’s children back to Ireland.
The issue of there being no agreement between the two countries was brought up by former Justice Minister Alan Shatter in 2014, however, no further progress was made.
Mandy said Minister Mcentee also agreed to talk to her colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs about her children’s passports.
She added: “We had written to the Department of Foreign Affairs to request them to reach out to my partner to return my children’s passports or to cancel them and both of these requests were denied or ignored.
“So I addressed this as incredibly important because my ex-partner can still get up and bring my children anywhere in the world.”
A spokesperson for Ms Mcentee said: “I met with Mandy Kelly today and heard about her incredibly difficult situation.
“I expressed my admiration for her resilience. I also assured her of the Government’s ongoing support, which of course includes DFA consular assistance, as she works through the Egyptian authorities to get her children home.”
Ex-partner can still bring my kids anywhere in world MANDY KELLY YESTERDAY