Yellow notice issued for two Irish boys being held in Egypt
Interpol has issued a Yellow Notice (missing persons alert) for two Irish boys being held in Egypt by their father.
Mandy Kelly from Dundalk has not seen her sons in over 1,000 days.
Despite a court ruling in Egypt granting her full custody of the children in July, she is now traveling back to Cairo for another court hearing.
Her sons, Zayn Mohamed, 6, and Kareem, 4, have been in Egypt with her ex-partner since 2022.
Both the judicial systems of Ireland and Egypt have ruled that the children must be returned to Ms Kelly.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster program, Ms Kelly described the situation as every parent’s worst nightmare.
“There is immense frustration that my two sons are not in my care,” she said. “As a parent, I am deeply concerned about their well-being. Are they attending school? Is Kareem being properly cared for? There are so many questions I still have.”
When Ms Kelly and her then-partner traveled to Egypt with their children in 2022, it was to visit the father’s family.
Ms Kelly said she had believed it was in the boys’ “best interests” that they got to know their paternal relatives.
When the family was due to return to Ireland in March 2022, Ms Kelly’s partner refused, taking the two children away.
Ms Kelly has been working with both Irish and Egyptian authorities ever since, to be reunited with her children.
“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,” she said.
Egypt has not signed up to the Hague Convention on child protection, making the case more challenging for Irish authorities.
It has been raised with several Egyptian authorities by the Taoiseach (prime minister), Simon Harris, and Department of Foreign Affairs.
Last week, President Michael D Higgins wrote to Ms Kelly to confirm he had raised the matter with his Egyptian counterpart during his visit last week.
Ms Kelly said: “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.”
