Dewsbury toddler “wrongfully retained” in Egypt by father

Mr Justice Roderic Wood said Omar Antar had not seen his mother Aisha Qureshi, 35, of Dewsbury, since late December.

The judge gave permission for the “sad case” to be reported at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London after an application by Ms Qureshi’s lawyers.

The judge was told by lawyers representing Ms Qureshi that Omar had been living with his mother in England and Mr Antar had been living in Egypt.

Ms Qureshi and Omar had travelled to Egypt for a wedding last November – but Mr Antar had refused to let the little boy return and even removed the child’s passport from her handbag without her knowledge.

The High Court had ordered Mr Antar to return Omar to England to his mother’s care. An Egyptian court had also ordered Mr Antar to return the youngster – but Mr Antar has so far refused to comply.

Lubna Shah, instructing solicitor in the case, told the Reporter that Ms Qureshi was currently in Egypt in attempt to get Mr Antar to co-operate with the authorities.

For the full story see this week’s Reporter.