Three young children who haven't been seen since going missing from Wythenshawe in July have been "clandestinely" taken to Libya by their father, a High Court judge has said.
Khalid Aljehani, nine, Aasiyah, seven, and Maimunha, four have been 'wrongly removed from the care of their mother Dawn Daley by their Libyan father, Fares Aljehani, Mr Justice Peel said.
Ms Daley, 44, last saw her children on July 30 after Mr Aljehani came to pick them up from their home in Wythenshawe. He was due to take them on holiday to North Yorkshire, but the kids were reported missing to police a week later on August 10, after they failed to return home.
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Despite desperate pleas from Ms Daley and the children's family in Manchester, the children have not been seen in over three months.
Speaking during a private litigation case in the Family Division of the High Court in London, Mr Justice Peel said the youngsters have been 'on the face of it,' victims of a 'blatant abduction,' the PA news agency reports.
Judges involved in the case have now decided that restrictions barring the children from being identified in media reports of that litigation should be lifted. They have given Ms Daley the go-ahead to launch a public appeal for help.
Lawyers representing her have now launched an appeal in the hope that publicity will help get the children back to Britain. They said Ms Daley and Mr Aljehani were married but had been estranged and involved in divorce proceedings.
Speaking at a recent hearing, Mr Justice Peel said: "From everything I have read and heard it is apparent that (the children) have been wrongly removed from this country by their father in what was, on the face of it, a blatant abduction.
"Those children are now with their father and his family in Libya. The removal was under the ruse of a holiday which the father said he wished to take in England.
"Instead, he took them clandestinely to Libya. In so doing it seems to me that he acted unscrupulously and contrary to the needs of these children who have always lived in this country and have been in the primary care of their mother and attending school here."
The judge said Mr Aljehani had been served with notification of legal proceedings, begun by Ms Daley, and his response had been to send a 'laughing emoji.'
"On the face of it, this father has perpetrated an act of great cruelty on these children and their mother," added Mr Justice Peel.
"I would urge anybody who can do anything to assist the return of the children to this country to do so. That includes the father himself, his family and any judicial or other authorities in Libya who are minded to take appropriate steps."
Speaking back in August, Ms Daley described her children's disappearance as a 'living nightmare,' as she struggled to fight back tears. "I just feel like I'm stuck in a nightmare and I feel so empty. It's the not knowing that's the worst," she said.
The children's grandparents, Phil and Lynne Daley, also made an emotional appeal for the 'joyful' kids to be brought home to their 'distraught' mother.
"All I would say is we just want them home. They need to be with their mother. She is distraught and so is the rest of the family. We are bonding together but we need them home," they said.
"Dawn is coping the best she can and she is always trying to look at the positives but she is totally, totally upset. We just need the kids to come back to her."
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for an update on the investigation. In a previous statement, they said: "On the 10th August 2022, police received a report that three children aged 8, 6 and 4 were missing from their home in Wythenshawe.
"The children are believed to be with a family member. Enquiries are ongoing to trace the whereabouts of the children."
An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are providing assistance to the family of three children who have been reported missing and are in contact with Greater Manchester Police."
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 8566051 quoting log number 3480 of the 10 th August 2022. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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