July 16 , 2013

Source: whotv.com

An Iowa man accused of kidnapping his daughter and triggering an Amber Alert Friday appeared in court Monday to set his bond.

Police say Sean Shannon abducted his 11-year-old daughter, Kiley from her Shellsburg home.  Fortunately, she was found safe in Cedar Rapids about an hour later.

According to Benton County officials, Shannon is not the custodial parent and did not have the mother’s permission to take Kiley. Authorities also say Shannon assaulted Kiley’s half-brother when he took her which led them to issue the Amber Alert Friday to find the girl.

Shannon is charged with third degree kidnapping.

During his court appearance Monday, Shannon became irritated and began swearing. Deputies escorted him out of the courtroom. His bond has been set at $10,000. Shannon is due back in court later this month.

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July 18 , 2013

Source: VG

Four months after supposedly being raped, Marthe Deborah Dalelv (24) is stuck in Dubai. She is now warning other women on holiday in the Middle East.

July 29 , 2013

Source: Sur in English

An international firm specialising in ‘child recovery missions’ has recently established its main admin base on the Costa del Sol

The summer holidays – one of the most anticipated times of the year; a time when families come together to enjoy each other’s company and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

The summer holidays are also, tragically, the time of the year when parental child abductions soar, according to ABP World Group, a global, intelligence-driven security and risk management firm that specialises in child recovery.

Asbjørn Engum, the vice president of the organisation, which has recently relocated its main administration offices from Norway to the Costa del Sol, tells SUR in English: “The summer is, typically, when parental child abductions peak. This is because it’s often easier at this time because children are out of school and they usually have a greater degree of freedom, as they – and often their guardians – are in holiday mode.

“And, in some cases, the summer is when the estranged parent would, under normal circumstances be with their child, so there’s a greater sense of wanting to take them if they’re not currently with them.”

Whilst now is the season when international child abductions significantly increase, it is in general terms a problem that has in recent years, says Asbjørn, “reached global epidemic proportions.” Why so?

“The ongoing increase in inter-racial and inter-cultural marriages and relationships has led to, and will continue to generate, a significant rise in the number of children born to parents of differing nationalities,” affirms ABP World Group’s vice president.

“Unfortunately, a considerable number of marriages – of any kind – do break down and end in an acrimonious divorce. When this happens with an inter-racial or inter-cultural couple, it is often the case that one of them then moves back to his or her ‘home’ country.

“Sadly, all too often one of the partners will look to punish the other one, and a way to do this is to abduct a child of that relationship – frequently moving them to a country where the child has never lived.”

Asbjørn, who like most of his colleagues has held superior-ranking positions in elite military and police teams and who has recently worked extensively in Afghanistan, says international parental child abduction is not confined to one region of the world.

“We work all over, although perhaps it is a trend that is more widely recognised in Europe, which is part of the reason we moved to southern Spain – for its access to other areas. Having said that, we have recently completed a case in Japan, and next week I will head to Brazil on a child recovery mission.”

The process.

On receiving an enquiry from a parent whose child is believed to have been abducted, ABP World Group’s first step is to ensure that the parent making contact secures legal custody of the child in question.

Once that stage has been completed, an extensive intelligence-gathering process gets underway. Says Asbjørn: “The parents will usually know which country their child is most likely to be in and we will start there – we have established intelligence contacts in most countries around the world.

“We will then carry out a comprehensive surveillance operation and begin to strategise the recovery itself, which is, it must be stressed, always completely non-violent and usually in cooperation with the local authorities.

“When we do go in for the recovery, it can be temporarily frightening for the child, of course. But they are always relieved when they realise what’s happened. The parent with the legal custody [the client] is always with us at this stage so we hand the child back directly, immediately to them.

“Our child recovery missions have a 97 per cent success rate. It’s very rewarding and everything we put ourselves through is worth it to see the child’s face light up when he or she is reunited with the parent from whom they were originally taken.”

And what are the financial costs of such missions for the client?

“There are many variables, including the country, the intelligence we need to pay for, the length of time it is likely to take, and what kind of recovery it will be. For example, if we need to hire a helicopter, and the pilot will be flying in a dangerous situation, the costs will obviously increase,” explains Asbjørn. “The recovery of a child can run from 20,000 to 100,000 euros.”

Other missions

Besides child recovery work, ABP World Group also specialises in risk management.

“This could involve compiling situation reports, screening of personnel, securing locations, as well as training civilians such as journalists and charity workers on how to survive being taken hostage when working ‘in the field’,” confirms Asbjørn Engum.

“In most of those kinds of situations it’s all about knowing how to remain ‘valuable’ to your captors under extreme conditions.”

The organisation, which was established in 2002 and which has bases in the UK, Cyprus, Norway, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, tells this newspaper that it is currently in negotiations with the relevant authorities to establish a ‘civilian training facility’ in a disused factory on the outskirts of Malaga capital.

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NOTE: We are always available 24/7

1-800-847-2315 US Toll free Number
0-808-189-0066 UK Toll Free Number
800-11-618        Norway Toll Free Number

Worldwide International Number: +31-208112223

Worldwide 24/7 Emergency Number: 0047 40466526

August 2 , 2013

Source: internationalparentalabduction.org

Indiana mom could be jailed in Cyprus as she fights for kids

Marla Theocharides is locked in an ugly international custody dispute

In a desperate attempt to stay close to her two children, Marla Theocharides packed her belongings and moved in April from Northern Indiana to Cyprus, where her ex-husband has kept their kids for more than two years despite US orders from Indiana giving the mother full custody.

On a number of occasions, her attempts to spend time with Katerina, 7, and Marcus, 4, have been thwarted by their father, who has denied visitation and ignored an order from the US court in South Bend, Indiana that grants custody of the children to their mother.

It’s yet another international custody dispute, similar to that of another Hoosier mom who traveled to Greece earlier this year in order to get her son back. That case ended happily for Alissa Zagaris, whose son is now with her in Noblesville.

But for Marla Theocharides, 33, things are not going well. In fact, she is about to go to jail.

A Cyprus court issued an arrest warrant for the Mishawaka native Friday, alleging failure to pay child support — despite the fact she cannot get a job because the financially struggling island country has yet to issue her a work permit.

“I expect to be arrested this week,” Theocharides said in an exclusive interview with The Indianapolis Star. “I am not ­legally allowed to work in ­Cyprus until they issue me a pink slip. I have applied for it but have not received it yet.”

Theocharides is supposed to pay her ex-husband 500 euros a month under a local court’s shared-custody decree that is supposed to guarantee her visitation rights. According to Theo­charides, her ex-husband, Charis, is a business consultant for NCR (National Cash Register) in Nicosia and makes 4,200 euros a month, information she says she got from court documents.

Attempts to reach Charis have been unsuccessful.

Theocharides, on the other hand, is struggling. “I am living on my credit card for food and gas,” she said. “I cannot pay the money back; I have no income.”

For that, she expects to go to jail, though probably not for long.

“I am told they will put me in jail until I can pay,” she said. “When they realize that I cannot pay, they will make payment arrange­ments and release me.”

Theocharides moved to Cyprus because child welfare officials told Cypriot courts that her children need to have a close relationship with their mother. Both children were born in America when the couple were married. She quit her job at a South Bend dentist’s office and moved to ­Cyprus. Since that time, she’s seen her kids only a handful of times.

“They were all very brief (visits), of course,” she said. “My daughter is very brainwashed, so she will not speak to me or have anything to do with me. My son is fine. He plays and laughs with me. He lets me hold him and doesn’t want me to leave when it is time to go.”

Back in Indiana, her parents and sister are deeply concerned about events in Cyprus.

“My mom has been taking it pretty hard,” said Raquel Muessig, 32, Granger, Theocharides’ younger sister. “It’s very frustrating because all the doctors there recommended she come, but then nobody helps when she tries to visit them.

“I feel like her ex-husband is just wanting ­revenge and wants her to suffer. She is causing stress in his life, and he does not handle stress well.”

Theocharides notified the U.S. State Department. An official there told The Star that the State Department is aware of “this private legal matter” before the Cypriot courts and is “providing all appropriate assistance and will continue to monitor the case closely.”

Theocharides first reported that her children were taken from her by their father on Jan. 10, 2011.

The couple met in 2001 while in college in Arizona and married in 2004; their kids were born in a South Bend hospital. Theocharides’ husband took the oath as a U.S. citizen in 2009.

In October 2009, the family moved to Cyprus, a move that Theocharides thought would be temporary but her husband considered permanent. In July 2010, she returned to the U.S. with the kids, and in the face of what she said was an increasingly violent husband, she filed for divorce.

Her husband complained to authorities in Cyprus, prompting the U.S. State Department to send Theocharides a letter requesting that she return the children. That was followed by kidnapping charges against her.

In January 2011, on the advice of the State ­Department, Theocharides reluctantly allowed her husband to take the kids back to Cyprus. Since then, St. Joseph Circuit Court in South Bend has tried to intervene, retaining its original jurisdiction in the divorce proceedings.

In September 2011, ­despite the absence of her husband and his attorney, the court finalized the ­divorce and awarded custody to Theocharides.

Since that time, she has been back and forth to ­Cyprus for visitation ­attempts that often proved fruitless and on at least one occasion re­sulted in her arrest and a short stay in jail.

Late last year, the welfare department and a child psychologist in ­Cyprus reported to the courts that the children were not doing well — they live with their grandmother and are cared for by unrelated nanny — and they recommended that Theocharides go to ­Cyprus for an extended stay to re-establish her ­relationship with them.

Alissa Zagaris, who endured a similar struggle with an ex-husband in Greece, said this case is more difficult than hers.

“Marla’s case is so much more complicated than mine, but the basic facts are the same,” Zagaris said Monday. “Hoosier kids stuck in a foreign land against all laws and treaties.

“I hate the fact Marla has put her own safety and freedom at risk by moving to Cyprus, but I understand why she has. Marla is my hero and 1,000 times braver than I.”

In Cyprus, Marla Theocharides says she is becoming very concerned about her own safety.

“I have been assaulted, jailed, followed and har­assed,” she said. “Anything can happen at any moment over here. My ex and his family are always planning something. I am even scared to go on the visits with my kids because I don’t want to get arrested in front of the children.”

But in a recent Facebook post, she showed ­resolve to stick it out until the end.

“He threatened me and told me that he has people after me and I will never last in Cyprus. WATCH ME. I will die for my kids. I am not afraid of him anymore.”

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August 2 , 2013

Source: findandrewthompsoneeurope

Ken Spooner is finally bringing his abducted children home after 5 years 

Ken has returned home to England with his two sons. We wish him and the boys all the best.

August 3 , 2013

Source: news-republic.com

On Monday, July 29, 2013, the world watched in horror at 150 men in 76 cities across the United States were arrested and charged with holding teenaged girls against their will to work as prostitutes in one of the largest human trafficking cases in American history.

The alleged perpetrators will be charged with sex crimes, but the systematic kidnapping and forced prostitution of young girls remains all too common in the world and across the U.S. In fact, according to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, there are more individuals living in slavery today than at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This terrifying epidemic is robbing thousands of young people of their childhood, and most often, the victims are young women.

Fighting human trafficking has become one of the great civil and human rights issues of our generation. That is why yesterday, August 1, I participated in a convening of the NGO community in Washington D.C., to discuss the issues of trafficking and forced prostitution at home and abroad, and how community groups can collectively organize to raise awareness about and combat human trafficking. The discussion was organized by the United Way World Wide, and included representatives from the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others.

At the Girl Scouts of the USA, we are committed to combatting trafficking in two ways: by building girls of confidence and strength who become leaders in their communities, and by helping girls organize and join other girls to raise awareness and develop Gold Award Projects to advocate against human trafficking and exploitation.

Throughout the Girl Scout Movement, there are girls doing amazing things on the issue of human trafficking: in Jupiter, Florida, a local Girl Scout helped enact state legislation that imposes tougher penalties on those convicted of human trafficking.

In Arizona, a Girl Scout developed a national effort to inform people about human trafficking, launching a program called “Girls Empowering and Mentoring with Support,” or GEMS for short, which helps girls raise awareness of the issue within communities. The group was so effective that a pilot program has been developed that teams GEMS members with Girl Guides in Honduras around the issue of sex trafficking.

These are just some of the many things Girl Scouts throughout the country are doing to take action against human trafficking. But the story that will stay with me forever belongs a young woman from the Girl Scout Movement who was herself a victim of sex trafficking. She was born in South America, and sold by her own family for $1,000. She was one of the “lucky ones” who was able to escape that life, and eventually, found her way into our Movement.

When I think about what this remarkable young lady has had to overcome — the unbelievable hardship she has faced, and her iron will to rise above it — I am simply in awe. Through Girl Scouting, she found a family — a sisterhood that gave her comfort and strength, and propelled her to achieve. She found an outlet for expression, a platform to channel her passion into a project that built a library program that teaches Latino immigrants to read and write English.

This is what we do. This is what the Girl Scout Movement can help girls achieve. This is why it is so important that faith-based groups, government entities and community organizations like the Girl Scouts extend their reach to the farthest corners of our world. The scourge of human trafficking can be taken on, and it can be defeated, but only when we recognize that, at its core, it is a problem that must be fought one community, one girl, at a time.

At the Girl Scouts of the USA, we are proud to stand with those who are on the front lines of this battle. It’s a war we must win, for ourselves, and our daughters.

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August 7 , 2013

Source: Al Jazeera

A video confirming fears that a Dutch couple had been kidnapped in Yemen has increased concerns about the risks facing journalists in the country

Reporters in Yemen seen as high-value targets

A video confirming fears that a Dutch couple had been kidnapped in Yemen has increased concerns about the risks facing journalists in the country.

Evidence that Dutch freelance journalist Judith Spiegel and her husband Boudewijn Berendsen had been seized was posted on YouTube in mid-July.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is warning that reporters are now seen as “high-value targets” in a wave of kidnapping that has plagued the country, while Reporters Without Borders has voiced alarm at the growing threat to media staff.

In the the minute-and-a-half video, Spiegel and Berendsen – missing since June – appear scared and tearful as they plead for help.

“My name is Boudewijn Berendsen…”

“And my name is Judith Spiegel. We are kidnapped, here in Yemen. We have a huge problem,” they tell the camera.

Negotiations to secure their release are not proceeding well, Spiegel adds: “So far, nothing has been done. No reaction, no results. These people are armed. If there’s no solution, they will kill us.”

It remains unclear who is holding the couple, who claim on the video that their captors were demanding progress within 10 days, but do not specify what their demands are.

Their abductors’ deadline has since expired.

Premonition

The freelance journalist and stringer for multiple Dutch media knew she risked kidnap, writing in a column for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad in March: “When I’m lying awake at night, I realise that I’m nowhere safe in this country…

“The idea of having to spend months with these extremists troubles me, and I don’t want to appear in a movie with a Kalashnikov pointed to my head, as happened to Dominik [Neubauer, an Austrian student who appeared in a video in February 2013], ” she wrote.

Soon after Spiegel and Berendsen were reported missing, a Sanaa police official told Yemeni press it was likely they had been kidnapped .

Both the Yemeni and Dutch government remain tight-lipped about the case, and the journalist’s parents have released few details about what is known.

Frans Timmermans, the Dutch foreign affairs minister, posted on his Facebook page a short statement claiming that victims of abduction always have the ministry’s full attention and that it was important to remain calm.

In a a short written statement, Spiegel’s parents said they knew the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was dealing with the case.

“We realise it’s [the ministry’s] policy that no information is released, and that when it does, it’ll be us knowing first.

“Of course, we find this very difficult, but our only priority is that Judith and Boudewijn are released as soon as possible and are in safety.”

The Yemeni human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman called on her Facebook page for the country’s president and prime minister to direct their personal attention towards efforts to effect the pair’s release.

“If not for Judith and her husband, for the sake of the reputation of Yemen that’s worsening with each passing day this couple is kidnapped,” she wrote.

Wave of kidnapping

Anthropologist Marina de Regt, who has worked and lived in Yemen and knows Spiegel, told Al Jazeera that kidnapping was now a prominent feature of life in the country where an old “tradition” has grown into a lucrative business.

“The situation has become increasingly dangerous since the Arab Spring in 2011,” said de Regt.

Recent victims include a Finnish couple and Neubauer, kidnapped by al-Qaeda fighters then freed four months later. A week ago, an Iranian embassy employee was seized by gunmen.

“It’s a result of the Yemeni government, not being able to hold on to its people, which is devastating for the country,” explained de Regt.

“The Netherlands and Yemen have a very good relationship, and are probably working very closely to solve this. Still, every case differs… [and that is] what makes it so difficult to negotiate.”

The CPJ argues that “disgruntled tribesmen have resorted to abductions to pressure the government to release imprisoned family members and extort political and financial compensation. Some captives have been sold to, or abducted by, al-Qaeda linked Islamist militants”.

Quirine Eijkman, a researcher at the Counterterrorism Centre of Leiden University , told Al Jazeera: “Over the past two years, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has grown stronger, making Yemen a more fragile country than it already was.

“It’s not for nothing that the United States started employing drone strikes in Yemen. Although I believe that because of these drone attacks, bad sentiment and anger towards the West has grown.”

Reporters Without Borders condemned the abduction, and media outlets have expressed their concern for Spiegel and Boudewijn and are following the case closely.

Rebecca Murray, a journalist who has worked for Al Jazeera from Yemen, praised her Dutch colleague: “[Judith] is one of the few foreigners here that has ventured beyond compound walls and the sensational headlines, to show the world what Yemen and Yemenis are really like, and the daily hardships they face.”

Murray stressed that all the Yemenis she knows – including local journalists – were outraged at the kidnapping.

“There is always a nagging fear you could be abducted on your way to or from the field,” she said.

“We are definitely watching each others’ backs more closely, evaluating risk and tightening security precautions. But as journalists, we still need to go out to get the real story.”

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August 9 , 2013

Source: insightcrime.org

August 16, 2013

Source: The Examiner

Parental child abduction is a federal crime. It is also a tragedy that jeopardizes children and has substantial long-term consequences for the “left-behind” parent, the child, the family, and society.

Children who are abducted by their parents are often suddenly isolated from their extended families, friends, and classmates. They are at risk of serious emotional and psychological problems. Similarly, left-behind parents experience a wide range of emotions including betrayal, loss, anger, and depression. In international cases, they often face unfamiliar legal, cultural, and linguistic barriers that compound these emotions.

In this section of our Web site, learn about the measures you can take to prevent your child from being wrongfully taken to or wrongfully kept in another country. In addition to the materials below, also see these important links:

Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program
Passport Requirements for Minors
Additional Prevention Tools
For Attorneys & Judges
International Parental Child Abduction Is Illegal

Under the laws of the United States and many foreign countries, international parental child abduction is crime. Removing a child from the United States against another parent’s wishes can be considered a crime in every U.S. state. In some cases an abducting parent may be charged with a Federal crime under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA). This can be the case even when neither parent holds a custody decree prior to the abduction. Nevertheless, a custody decree can be helpful to prevent an international parental child abduction, or to recover your child if he/she is abducted.

The Importance of a Custody Decree

A well-written custody decree is an important line of defense against international parental child abduction. In your custody decree, it may be advisable to include a statement that prohibits your child from traveling abroad without your permission or that of the court. Ask your attorney if you should obtain a decree of sole custody or a decree that prohibits the travel of your child without your permission or that of the court. If you have or would prefer to have a joint custody decree, you may want to make certain that it prohibits your child from traveling abroad without your permission or that of the court.

If your child is at risk of being taken to a country that partners with the United States under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Abduction Convention), your custody decree should include the terms of the Hague Abduction Convention that apply if there is an abduction or wrongful retention (see country list).

The American Bar Association also suggests requesting the court, if the other parent is not a U.S. citizen or has significant ties to a foreign country, to require that parent to post a bond. This may be useful both as a deterrent to abduction and, if forfeited because of an abduction, as a source of revenue for you in your efforts to locate and recover your child.

REMINDER: Obtain several certified copies of your custody decree from the court that issued it. Give a copy to your child’s school and advise school personnel to whom your child may be released.

Two Parent Signature Law for a Passport

The United States does not have exit controls on its borders for holders of a valid passport. This makes preventing a passport from being issued to your child without your consent very important. Generally, if your child has a passport, it can be difficult to prevent the other parent from removing the child to another country without your permission.

U.S. law requires the signature of both parents, or the child’s legal guardians, prior to issuance of a U.S. passport to children under the age of 16. To obtain a U.S. passport for a child under the age of 16, both parents (or the child’s legal guardians) must execute the child’s passport application and provide documentary evidence demonstrating that they are the parents or guardians. If this cannot be done, the person executing the passport application must provide documentary evidence that he or she has sole custody of the child, has the consent of the other parent to the issuance of the passport, or is acting in place of the parents and has the consent of both parents (or of a parent/legal guardian with sole custody over the child to the issuance of the passport).

EXCEPTIONS: The law does provide two exceptions to this requirement: (1) for exigent circumstances, such as those involving the health or welfare of he child, or (2) when the Secretary of State determines that issuance of a passport is warranted by special family circumstances.

Read more: Passport Requirements for Minors

Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program

You may also ask that your child’s name be entered into the State Department’s Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP). Entering your child into the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program will enable the Department to notify you or your attorney if an application for a U.S. passport for the child is received anywhere in the United States or at any U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. If you have a court order that either grants you sole custody, joint legal custody, or prohibits your child from traveling without your permission or the permission of the court, the Department may refuse to issue a new or renewal U.S. passport for your child. The Department may not, however, revoke a passport that has already been issued to the child. There is also no way to track the use of a passport once it has been issued, since there are no exit controls for people leaving the U.S. If your child already has a passport, you should take steps to ensure that it is kept from a potential abductor by asking the court or attorneys to hold it.

IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND:

The United States does not have exit controls.
The Department of State may not revoke a passport that has been issued to a child, but you can ask a court to hold onto it.
There is no way to track the use of a passport once it has been issued.
Your child might also be a citizen of another country (dual nationality). Even if he/she does not have a U.S. passport, your child may be able to travel on the other country’s passport. .
The Privacy Act and Passports

Passport information is protected by the provisions of the Privacy Act (PL 93-579) passed by Congress in 1974. Information regarding a minor’s passport is available to either parent. Information regarding adults may be available to law enforcement officials or pursuant to a court order issued by the court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with (22 CFR 51.27). For further information regarding the issuance or denial of United States passports to minors involved in custody disputes, please contact Passport Services.

For additional information about prevention measures, please visit web site at:http://www.travel.state.gov/abduction/prevention/prevention_560.html.

Prevention Branch
Office of Children’s Issues
U.S. Department of State
Email: PreventAbduction@state.gov
Phone: (888) 407-4747
Fax: (202) 736-9133
Website: travel.state.gov

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August 2013

Source: Interpol Sweden

Elena Blombren ( Skobelina ) is wanted for parental child abduction of her Daughter Matilda Mary Michelle Blomgren

If you have information about this case, please contact your local Police.

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August 22, 2013

Source: news-republic

When coming into new wealth, people may start spending on luxuries like fancy new cars, large homes or extravagant vacations. Some other people may want to spend their newfound wealth on something a little more unique.

According to a report by local Chinese newspaper Northern News, a company in the southern city of Shenzhen is offering a “simulated kidnapping experience” to those willing to pay for it. For 100,000 yuan, or about $16,360, customers can experience various moments of captivity and eventual escape. The company’s “Elite Danger Class” is an instructive course for people needing guidance on how to behave during a kidnapping and how to eventually escape. Think of it as wilderness-survival training, only for very specific ransom scenarios.

A company in southern Shenzhen, China is offering a service that will kidnap customers and eventually teach them how to escape for the hefty price of 100,000 RMB. China Navis/ Northern News

Most of the people who sign up for the classes are the extremely wealthy and believe being kidnapped is a reality that they could potentially face. According to China Navis, the class will serve as a pre-emptive education in case an incident of kidnapping or hostage-taking arises, something that has happened in the past.

Hostage-takings in China are almost always related to money. Most recently, an American executive of a medical supplies company, Chip Starnes, was held hostage by a group of factory workers over claims of unequal severance packages that were announced after layoffs. Roughly 100 or so employees were responsible for holding Starnes at the company’s Beijing factory — they also claimed that they hadn’t been paid some of their wages.

A Forbes story reported that while business disputes in the U.S. or in Western culture in general is often handled in courts or through various legal procedures, don’t expect the Chinese to settle their disputes through their lawyers. Particularly with smaller or private companies, it is not entirely uncommon for people to resort to physical abduction until debts are paid or money terms are settled. While hostage situations have rarely turned violent, ensuring that local authorities have no reason to intervene, the reality is that negotiating oneself out of varying degrees of danger is something that many high-powered business people end up needing to know.

Still, a 100,000 yuan course seems like a ridiculous price tag to pay for preparation of something that may or may not happen. Fortunately for the people running the classes, while they can’t sell “guaranteed safety,” they can still capitalize on selling a sense of security.

Read also about ABP World Group`s CAC ( Conduct After Capture )  Training 

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August 29, 2013

Source: The Republic.com

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine woman appointed by a court to supervise a visit between a mother and children has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child after the mother and kids fled the state.

Jennifer Dore of Benton was the court-appointed visitation supervisor for Bethmarie Retamozzo. Authorities say she allowed Retamozzo to drive away with her children on Aug. 15 from Waterville.

Police say the 37-year-old Dore didn’t disclose the information to police until over five hours after Retamozzo left. Police said she placed the children at risk.

Retamozzo is being held without bail at the Kennebec County Jail on two felony counts of criminal restraint by a parent. She and the children were found Aug. 18 in South Carolina. She is expected in court Wednesday.

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September 2, 2013

Source: Stephen Watkins (Left Behind Father)

CAN YOU HELP?

Please post some comments below – I am seriously thinking of riding my bike from Toronto to Ottawa to raise funds and deliver our first Law Resolution proposal from up to 8 law proposals.

I am doing this to help raise funds for the enormous legal costs associated with Parental Child Abductions which there is NO financial assistance provided to families by the Canadian government and to help bring my two sons, Alexander and Christopher Watkins, home who were internationally abducted to Poland in 2009.

This is a big thing for me to accomplish as I am a big guy and not exactly fit. Its not the sort of thing you would expect of a parent who is fighting to return home their abducted children. Poland may have broken up to 5 International treaties between Canada in not returning my Canadian sons and our Canadian government is doing nothing about it to enforce the treaties against other countries that have signed but that are not following the international treaties and conventions.

It feels like the Canadian government believes that its the responsibility its own Canadian citizens to uphold our international agreements that our own previous Canadian governments have signed throughout the years. It feels that it is left upon the shoulders of a regular Canadian parent to take other countries to courts themselves to prove that other countries are in breach of not following international treaties and conventions rather then the Canadian government’s responsibility to get involved themselves and enforce our agreements to bring home our abducted children.

I plan to take the country of Poland to the EU courts to show evidence that the Polish justice system failed to follow up to 5 international treaties and conventions to get and “Order for Return” of my two abducted sons who are “Wards” of the country of Poland as the Polish Courts have removed the parental rights of the abducting mother due to child protection concerns prior to notifying Canadian authorities of the boys location.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs have communicated that abducted Canadian children have never been “Wards” of another country after an International Kidnapping. The abducting mother is on Canada’s RCMP Most Wanted list and the Canadian government has issued a world-wide Interpol “Red Notice” for her arrest. After two-and-a-half years, the Canadian Criminal courts have ruled a GUILTY verdict for the abducting mother and her father, the children’s grandfather living in Canada, was sentenced by the Canadian Courts.

This has set precedence here in Canada. Intentional Child Abductions affects so many families in Canada. A group of affected parents and myself are working together in a group formed called the iCHAPEAU Association working towards creating Canada’s iCHAPEAU Act. I have NO idea how I can accomplish this bike journey so I am learning from other events posted online, such as “The Ontario Ride to Conquer Cancer”, who have incorporated biking in their causes. Hoping to make connections with others online who know how to train, plan such a bike journey and help in this fundraising event. If you can help, contact me through the iCHAPEAU either online or on Facebook. Thanks!
NEWS CLIP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5VC8much4
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/iCHAPEAU
GOOGLE+: http://bit.ly/iCHAPEAU-GooglePLUS
WWW: http://www.iCHAPEAU.ca/

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ABP World Group Risk Management

September 3, 2013

Source: todayszaman.com

In cases of child abduction by a family member, it is often the case that either the mother or the father takes the child (or children) to another country on vacation, never to return home.

For this reason, the number of child abduction cases spikes in the summer months; international child abduction is almost a seasonal crime in Turkey. I have written about child abduction and Turkish legislation related to this offense a couple of times before, but it is relevant to revisit the subject at this time of the year. What is international child abduction? It is basically the removal of a child from the home (usually by a parent before a divorce). According to the Hague Convention, “The removal or the retention of a child is to be considered wrongful where: a) it is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person, an institution or any other body, either jointly or alone, under the law of the state in which the child was habitually resident immediately before the removal or retention; b) at the time of removal or retention those rights were actually exercised, either jointly or alone, or would have been so exercised but for the removal or retention.” It is important that custody rights are enjoyed and exercised jointly at the time of removal or retention. “Habitual residence” is the most important element of a child abduction case, as it defines the place where the child used to live before the abduction. Is Turkey party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction? Yes, Turkey signed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction on Jan. 21, 1998. Provisions in treaties and other international agreements are incorporated into Turkey’s domestic law and cannot “operate directly” in the domestic sphere, the must be “transformed” into domestic law by ratification and approval of ratification. Under Article 90 of the Constitution, the ratification of any international agreement concluded between states or international entities (such as public international organizations and the Republic of Turkey), shall be subject to adoption by the Parliament by a law approving the ratification. The convention entered the Turkish domestic code on Feb. 15, 2000, when it was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette (No. 23965). Turkey signed the convention, but accepted Article 26 — governing costs — with modifications. This article stipulates that each government shall bear its own costs in applying the convention. Turkey has modified it as follows, “The Turkish Republic shall not pay judicial [including court proceedings] expenses, legal counsel, lawyers’ fees or any kind of expense or fee regarding the return of the child.” According to this amendment, Turkey’s government shall not be responsible for paying for the parties’ lawyers or other counsel’s costs; however, all other aspects of the convention have been incorporated into the Turkish legal code. NOTE: Berk Çektir is a Turkish lawyer and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living and doing business in Turkey. Please kindly send inquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com. If a sender’s letter is published, names may be disclosed unless otherwise is expressly stated by the sender. DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not rely solely on the information in this column.

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September 3, 2013

Source: News Republic

Forty years after a Swedish hostage drama gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome”, the phenomenon is still being used, and misused, to explain the reactions of kidnap victims.

But one man knows exactly how it works. Jan-Erik Olsson remembers clearly the strange things that happened after he walked into a bank in the Swedish capital on August 23, 1973, pulled out a submachine gun and took four employees hostage.

-Police snipers on August 24, 1973 on a roof opposite Kreditbanken bank where Jan-Erik Olsson was holding workers hostage. Forty years after a Swedish hostage drama gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome”, the phenomenon is still being used, and misused, to explain the reactions of kidnap victims.

“The hostages more or less sided with me, protecting me in some situations so that the police wouldn’t shoot me,” said Olsson, then a convict on furlough from prison, and now a peaceful 72-year-old.

“They even went down to use the bathroom and the police wanted to keep them there, but they all came back,” he told AFP.

The five-day hostage crisis, the first to be broadcast live to a mesmerised Swedish nation, created even more drama after police agreed to Olsson’s demand to have one of the country’s most notorious criminals, bank robber Clark Olofsson, brought there from prison.

Olsson, much less of a celebrity at the time, had kicked off the drama with the memorable line, “The party has only started!”, and initially he had scared the hostages.

Picture taken during the siege at Kreditbanken in Stockholm that began on August 23, 1973. The five-day hostage crisis, the first to be broadcast live to a mesmerised Swedish nation, created even more drama after police agreed to Olsson’s demand to have one of the country’s most notorious criminals, bank robber Clark Olofsson, brought there from prison.

“You could see the fear in their eyes,” Olsson said. “I only wanted to scare them. I’ve never done time for anything particularly violent.”

After a while, however, the fear turned into other more complex feelings, as a shocked Swedish public learned from one of the first telephone interviews with hostage Kristin Enmark.

“I’m not the least bit afraid of Clark and the other guy, I’m afraid of the police. Do you understand? I trust them completely. Believe it or not, but we’ve had a really nice time here,” she said.

Olsson and Olofsson eventually surrendered, and all the hostages were rescued. But that was not the end of the story.

From then on, the roles of captor and captive have been seen in an entirely different light, and the “Stockholm Syndrome” still conveys expert status to Frank Ochberg, the American psychiatrist who coined the expression.

Ochberg, who testified during the recent trial of Ariel Castro, the 53-year-old Cleveland man who abducted and tormented three young women for a decade, said the Stockholm Syndrome has three elements.

First, there are “the parts that generate attachment and even love on the part of the hostage for the hostage holder,” he said.

The second part is the reverse — when the kidnapper reciprocates and begins to care about the victim.

“That’s the reason we sometimes want to generate the Stockholm Syndrome if we can, when we’re dealing with a hostage situation,” he said.

The third element is both parties’ mutual contempt for the outside world.

Typically, the event happens very suddenly and hostages are terrified to the point where they have a sense of knowing, not just thinking, they are going to die, according to Ochberg.

“Very early on, they are denied the ability to speak, to move, to use the toilet, to eat. And then they are given those gifts of life, and as they receive them they have the feelings… we have when we are infants and close to our mother,” he said.

Since it was first identified, experts have disagreed on just how common the Stockholm Syndrome is.

At first, there was a “pendulum swing” to always look for it, but after FBI negotiators questioned its prevalence, it “swung back to where I think it should be, somewhere in the middle,” Ochberg said.

The term has filtered into everyday language and is sometimes used incorrectly.

Austrian teenager Natascha Kampusch emerged in 2006 after being held captive for eight years in an underground bunker, where she was abused, starved and raped.

But she admitted crying when hearing about the death of her tormentor, and has said she has “grown apart” from her parents, leading to speculation that she might be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

“Once a person is set free, they may feel closer to their captor than to those who were prior friends and family. I wouldn’t call this Stockholm Syndrome,” Ochberg said.

As for Olsson, the ex-bank robber has stuck to the straight and narrow since leaving prison in 1980, working as a car salesman in Sweden and as a farmer in Thailand, where he lived for 15 years with a Thai woman he married 24 years ago.

“I don’t think I would like to have (the robbery) undone because it’s been a large part of my life and a lot of things have happened afterwards,” he said, but added that he did regret all the years of his life he spent in prison — even though two of his hostages came to visit him there.

Asked if he thought the condition really did exist, he said: “What the heck is a syndrome anyway? I don’t know.”

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September 9, 2013

Source: Vancouversun

September 10, 2013

ABP World Group, Stephen Watkins, and others on International Parental Child Abduction @

Al Jazeera, The Stream tomorrow at 7:30 GMT

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The viral nature of social networks allows for such information to spread and multiply rapidly. While these developments have the potential to generate more heat than light, to a broadcaster like Al Jazeera, they are also a huge opportunity to reach news in places and at levels until now impossible.The Stream is a super-aggregator of these online sources, seeking out both untold stories and new, ground level takes on stories in the mainstream.

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September 11, 2013

Source: The Huffington Post

For most children, summer conjures up thoughts of carefree, school-free days in the sunshine, holidays and fun.

Sadly, some of their parents do not feel as upbeat. It’s not just that they recognise the intricacies involved in balancing childcare and jobs, the effect of boisterous kids on their eardrums or the expense of keeping offspring entertained until they return to the classroom.

Many separated parents understand how difficult it can be to put their children’s welfare first when relations with their former partners become strained. Indeed, anxieties which resident parents believe to be entirely natural can become even more heightened when their exes want to take children abroad on holiday.

Some fear their family becoming another statistic, adding to the growing number of children who are abducted by their parents.

Last December, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) released figures showing that the number of abductions had risen by 88 per cent in a decade. In the 12 months to September last year, the FCO recorded 512 abductions by parents and featured 84 different countries.

A framework, established by the 1980 Hague Convention, allows for children to be speedily returned to their homes while the underlying problems that prompted their being taken are resolved.

The problem is that only 89 countries are currently signatories to the Convention. It can take years to locate and return those children taken to states which haven’t yet signed up to the Convention.

As a result of that complication and the general increase in cases of parental child abduction, official efforts have been stepped up to find a workable means of stopping such incidents happening in the first place.

Last year, a meeting of Hague signatory states proposed a new ‘consent to travel form’ added to passports in order to identify those parents legally entitled to take their children overseas and, conversely, those mothers or fathers who had restrictions preventing them from doing so.

Talks followed with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations which regulates air travel and the global passport system, but have so far yielded no definite results.

The Hague initiative did at least give rise to further exploration of the subject by the European Commission. Detailed research led to a report to the European Parliament at the start of this month.

In part, it confirmed what practitioners in parental child abduction cases, including myself and my colleagues in Pannone’s Family department, had long suspected. It described how the current system of combatting abductions is flawed and highlighted how little information has been compiled about children at risk of being taken across borders.

Adding further relevant information to passports, perhaps in a manner similar to that proposed by Hague Convention signatories, was one possible solution put forward.

Such a method would complement the passport system already in place and potentially overcome the inconsistencies both between countries and even in different regions of the same country which can have damaging consequences for parents trying to avert abductions and, of course, their children.

There would, naturally, be more administration to enhance current arrangements and that work would cost money. Who would pay – and how – has not been discussed to date.

What the Hague Convention and now European Commission have begun, though, is to develop momentum towards a resolution of an issue of pressing concern. A European directive would only affect those countries in the Community and certainly – sadly – not be worldwide. Those gaps would need to be filled in a later point.

However, it represents a start. To those parents who have experienced the agony of having a child abducted and exhausted money and time trying to have them returned to their homes, that first step is a critical one.

They will be hoping the authorities’ attempts to action a scheme to stop children boarding planes or boats does take off.

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September 13, 2013

Source: kirotv.com

TACOMA, Wash. — 

Tacoma police conducted a child abduction drill Thursday. Everything about the drill was supposed to feel real, all the way down to how they brief the media to get the word out.

The drill is practice for something they said has happened too often in Tacoma — 16 child abductions in about the last 50 years.

It was a nightmare scenario for parents. A girl in a park abducted by a stranger vanished as police moved to find her and her kidnapper before it’s too late.

But this was not a real abduction, it was a drill by the Tacoma Police Department’s Child Abduction Response Team or CART. The drill conducted Thursday morning on the city’s northeast side is part of an effort for police to win national certification, making them one of 20 CART teams nationwide and the only one in Washington state.

One notable abduction was that of Teeka Lewis, who disappeared in 1999. Her mother still goes back every year to the place she vanished. At the time, 2-year-old Lewis disappeared from a bowling alley that has since become a Home Depot

Teresa Lewis, Teekah’s mother, said watching the drill brought back memories of her daughter’s disappearance. “It’s like I’m reliving that day,” said Lewis.

Teekah Lewis is one of 16 children abducted by a stranger in the city of Tacoma since 1961. Tacoma police said that number is considered high among law enforcement.

The training hopes to better the law enforcement response to similar situations in the future.

Thursday’s drill was part of a certification process conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Criminal Justice Training Center. Police Detective Lindsey Wade said having a CART team in place when an abduction happens gives police what they need most: an organizational structure for rapid response that helps cut the amount of time it takes to get law enforcement mobilized, civilian resources in place to filter through tips and telephone calls and to alert news media outlets to broadcast information that can lead to valuable clues.

“About 76 percent of the time when a child is killed during a stereotypical abduction, it happens within three hours,” said Wade, “so that’s not a lot of time for us to react.”

There were people from different departments who will work on how to respond to abductions more efficiently.

The drill ended with a Tacoma police SWAT team locating the suspect, who was portrayed by a police officer, and the victim, a teenage actor, well before the deadline.

Alan Wolochuck, an assessor with the U.S. Department of Justice, praised the department’s performance after the drill. “They did very well. One of the best that we’ve seen around the country,” said Wolochuck.

Lewis said she believes the abduction of her daughter, along with other unsolved cases, helped spur the department to assemble the CART team. “The resources they have now, I wish they had them back then so she would have been found,” said Lewis.

A decision on the team’s application for national certification is expected to take about two weeks.

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Child abduction drill in Tacoma

 

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NOTE: We are always available 24/7

1-800-847-2315 US Toll free Number
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Worldwide International Number: +31-208112223

Worldwide 24/7 Emergency Number: +34 633 374 629

September 16, 2013

Source: The Daily Star