Supreme court postpones return of child to US

The supreme court on Wednesday rejected a Paphos family court ruling issued just hours earlier that a woman must immediately return her underage son to his father in the US.

Earlier on Wednesday, the mother submitted a motion to suspend the family court’s decision, which the court rejected, saying the child must be returned immediately.

The case was promptly appealed at the supreme court which said it would examine the case, effectively postponing any immediate return of the child to the US.

The Paphos court had decided that the mother must hand the child over to his father after he reported her for abducting their son from New York, where they lived and bringing him to Cyprus in 2017 when he was 12 months old.

The mother’s lawyer told the Cyprus News Agency that the supreme court ruled she would not have to hand the child over until at least February 16, when both parties will have to appear before the Supreme Court for the appeal hearing.

Alleging abuse, the mother said she had sought protection from the US authorities and at the same time managed to get a passport issued for her son through the Cypriot consulate in New York.

Her other arguments, which also included that the child has adjusted to life in Cyprus after three years here, were not accepted.

The father’s lawyer told the Cyprus News Agency that the Paphos court’s decision only refers to whether the child should be returned to his father and that any other matters regarding this case, such as custody, are under the jurisdiction of courts in the US, as the child is an American citizen and US passport holder.

Meanwhile, the father is filing a lawsuit against the Republic of Cyprus, saying that by issuing a passport for the child, the Cypriot consulate in New York enabled the mother’s actions back in 2017.