Pictured: Five-year-old British girl kidnapped by her father and taken to Slovakia where
A High Court judge has taken the unusual step of naming a British child kidnapped by her father and taken abroad in a bid to get her home.
Elena Smolik, five, was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual national father Rastislav, 33, and has not been seen since, leaving her mother Wiem Bejaoui heartbroken.
Despite repeated attempts to contact her daughter, Wiem, 26, has not been able to speak with her since October and Smolik’s relatives claim they have no idea where he is.
In a High Court hearing, Mr Justice Francis allowed the parties to be named and said in his five-page ruling it was a ‘very serious case of child abduction’ adding he believed it was ‘planned’.
He went on: ‘It is appalling, it is dreadful for the mother to be deprived of her child but even worse for the child to be deprived of her mother.’
Justice Francis added: ‘I do not know what his family or friends out there know or have been told.
‘I would like to think that most right-minded people would be appalled at the idea of a father retaining his daughter in a foreign country – which is after all what Slovakia is to Elena.
‘I hope that her father will be persuaded, shamed even, to agree that Elena should return to this country – this country being the country of habitual residence for Elena.’
Smolik, five, was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual national father Rastislav, 33, and has not been seen since leaving her mother Wiem Bejaoui, 26, heartbroken
Elena Smolik, five, was taken to Slovakia last year by her dual national father Rastislav, 33
Elena is pictured riding a pink scooter
The ruling described how Smolik and Wiem, who have permission to stay in Britain, met in 2018 on social media, later married and Elena was born in London in 2019.
Four years later the relationship started to break down and in October last year, hospitality worker Smolik said he was taking Elena to visit relatives in Slovakia.
Tunisian-born Wiem agreed to a short visit during half term but then the day Elena was due to return on November 1, her husband called and said they had been delayed as he had ‘lost’ their daughter’s passport.
But since then, she has not even spoken to her daughter and all attempts to contact Smolik via his relatives who she knows have been stonewalled.
Breaking down in tears, Wiem told MailOnline: ‘The last time I heard from Elena was in November when she told me about the passport and then the next day her father messaged me and said she wanted to stay here and then he blocked me.
‘I called his sister, his brother, his parents, all his family there I know and they don’t want to speak to me, they ignore my questions about Elena.
‘I don’t believe he has lost the passport and so I called the police and they said they would go to the flat and they found his father who said he was in the UK living with his wife and daughter, which isn’t true.
‘They were lying, I know he is still in Slovakia with Elena, they live in a rural place in the mountains, very easy to hide and I don’t know how she is doing or if she is even going to school.
‘It’s been so hard on me, I just want Elena back, I try not to cry but it’s not easy, it was her birthday a few days ago and you don’t know how hard it was.
‘I miss her so much, she is such a chatterbox and is always by my side, without her with me, life is so hard, she needs me and I want her back.
Amy Rowe, of Dawson Cornwell, who is representing Wiem said: ‘This a serious case of child abduction, and parents often don’t appreciate the devastating effect that abduction has on a child, particularly if they are prevented from seeing and speaking to the other parent.
‘There is international consensus that children need to be protected from the harmful effects of parental child abduction by their swift return to their home country where the courts are best placed to make decisions about their future.
‘Wiem cannot afford to instruct a lawyer in Slovakia to bring proceedings for Elena’s return, and we understand that legal aid is not available.
‘It is extremely difficult for parents to navigate the legal process themselves, particularly where they do not speak the language or understand the legal process in a foreign country.
‘We echo Wiem’s calls for Rastislav Smolik to return Elena to England.
‘If he believes that there are reasons why Elena should be moved to Slovakia to live, then he should make that case in the proper way to the English Family Court.’
Smolik’s passport is seen in this image with details redacted
Michael Polak, Barrister at Church Court Chambers and Director of Justice Abroad, also representing the mother, said: ‘It is impossible to comprehend the pain and confusion that the current situation must be causing to Elena, who was living happily with her mother in London before suddenly being wrongfully retained in Slovakia.
‘To abduct Elena is already shocking, but to entirely deny her contact with and the love of her mother is abhorrent.
‘The father’s actions in this case, of taking a child overseas with permission, but then keeping the child there without it, is a clear breach of the orders of the English Court relating to Elena’s care.
‘Unfortunately, wrongful retention is not a criminal offence under British law, and consideration must be given to changing this to help prevent further cases such as this one.
‘Anyone with any information about the location of Elena should reach out to us confidentially to help end this nightmare for both mother and child.
‘We have asked the Metropolitan Police to request the issuance of an INTERPOL Yellow notice for Elena as a missing person, as this could result in the swift location of the child.’
Wiem has set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for her fight to get her daughter back.
Details are here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/zgbp47-help-me-get-my-daughter-back?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&attribution_id=sl:dcd0c37d-d82e-40ea-97ce-5829ec0a7701