The American police are working on the case of little Ethan, the newborn baby whose mother, Claudia Ciampa, reported having been stolen by her American ex-partner on August 30 during a vacation in Puglia, and taken to the United States without her consent.
Sources at the Farnesina confirm that law enforcement in California and Arizona are carrying out searches in the places where they believe the father may have taken the child.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, in response to Mrs. Ciampa's appeal, urged the maximum commitment of the Italian consular authorities in the USA.
The police attaché at the embassy in Washington urgently reported the case through Interpol channels, after having forwarded the communications from Interpol Rome, highlighting the importance of tracing the child as soon as possible.
Ethan has been entered into the U.S. national search system, both domestic and border.
On October 4, after Interpol Rome issued a blue notice against the father, coinciding with the initiation of criminal proceedings against him, diplomats from the Italian embassy met with Bruce Swartz, Under Secretary of the US Department of Justice, to raise awareness of the matter.
Claudia Ciampa, in a letter to Minister Tajani, expressed her desperation, stating that she was “exhausted” and needed “his help and the government's support” to be reunited with her son, who was stolen from her through deception.
The mother stressed that for 40 days the child, seven months old, born in Cincinnati but resident in Piano di Sorrento, with dual Italian-American citizenship, has been held in a secret location, probably in the United States, far from her, who was still breastfeeding him.
Ciampa added that the father makes only one video call a day, showing the child for a few moments without revealing his location.
Lawyer Gian Ettore Gassani, president of the Association of Italian Matrimonial Lawyers, is following the case, activating all the procedures provided for by the 1980 Hague Convention on cooperation between States.
Through TV appearances, Gassani has repeatedly tried to bring his father to reason, and has asked for the intervention of the Farnesina, underlining the legal and diplomatic complexity of the affair, which involves two nations.
Article published on 7 October 2024 - 19:28
We hope that this little Ethan can be returned to his mother as soon as possible, the situation is really sad.