Caserta – The dramatic case of a three-year-old boy held in Tunisia by his father, who had stolen his documents, preventing him from returning to Italy with his mother, has ended happily.
After weeks of apprehension, the intervention of the Caserta State Police and the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Prosecutor's Office allowed the safe return of the child and the woman.
The story began when the family traveled to Tunisia to allow the child to meet his paternal grandparents. However, when they left to join other relatives of the mother, the man withheld his son's documents - passport, tax code, residence permit and identity card - and returned to Italy alone, leaving the mother and child stranded in the North African country.
Desperate, the woman immediately reported the incident to the Italian authorities, also reporting the pressure and threats she had received to leave her son in Tunisia. Following the complaint, the Civil Court ordered the exclusive custody of the child to the mother and ordered the return of the stolen documents.
Meanwhile, the father returned to Tunisia in an attempt to convince the woman to give in to his demands, but his movements were already under close observation.
The epilogue took place at Milan-Malpensa airport, where the man was stopped by the police upon returning to Italy and the child's documents were recovered. Thanks to the timely intervention of the authorities, the mother was able to get her documents back and organize the return to Italy with her son, putting an end to a nightmare that had lasted weeks.
The case puts the spotlight back on international child abduction, a problem that often results in long and complex legal battles. The rapid intervention of the judiciary and law enforcement has allowed this case to be resolved positively, but the phenomenon remains a delicate issue that requires increasingly effective tools to ensure the protection of minors and respect for parental rights.
Article published on 8 February 2025 - 20:03
