Interpol Issues Yellow Notice for Irish Boys Held in Egypt

An Interpol Yellow Notice, which serves as an alert for missing persons, has been issued concerning two Irish boys who are currently being held in Egypt by their father. Mandy Kelly, a resident of Dundalk, has been separated from her sons for over 1,000 days. Although an Egyptian court granted her full custody of her children in July, she is presently en route to Cairo for an additional court hearing. Ms. Kelly’s sons, Zayn Mohamed, aged 6, and Kareem, aged 4, have resided in Egypt with her former partner since 2022. Both the judicial systems of the Republic of Ireland and Egypt have determined that Ms. Kelly’s children are to be returned to her care. During an appearance on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme, Ms. Kelly described the situation as “every parent’s worst nightmare.” She stated, “There is huge frustration that my two sons are not in my care.” Ms. Kelly added, “Obviously as a parent I am very concerned about their welfare. Are they going to school? Is Kareem being properly looked after? There are multiple questions that I still have.” In 2022, Ms. Kelly and her partner at the time traveled to Egypt with their children for the purpose of meeting the children’s paternal family. Ms. Kelly indicated that she had believed it was in the boys’ “best interests” for them to become acquainted with their paternal relatives. However, when the family was scheduled to return to Ireland in March 2022, Ms. Kelly’s partner declined to do so and took the two children. Since that time, Ms. Kelly has been collaborating with both Irish and Egyptian authorities in an effort to be reunited with her children. She remarked, “It is so tough, this is my fifth trip over and it doesn’t get easier, it hurts me deeply having to leave without my kids but there will be a day when my two children will be with me and we will all leave together.” Egypt’s non-adherence to the Hague Convention on child protection presents additional difficulties for Irish authorities in this case. The matter has been brought to the attention of several Egyptian authorities by Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris and the Department of Foreign Affairs. President Michael D. Higgins confirmed in a letter to Ms. Kelly last week that he had discussed the issue with his Egyptian counterpart during his visit the previous week. Ms. Kelly stated: “I just want to be able to hug my two children in the mornings, put their uniform on, take them to school and cook them dinner, just normal things that people take for granted.”