Deperate Mom takes global fight

A DESPERATE mother has issued a heartfelt appeal to three separate governments to reunite her with her 10-year-old son, who has allegedly been abducted by relatives.

Briton Rebecca Jones, who claims her son Adam was kidnapped after they were duped into travelling to Qatar to visit his supposedly sick grandmother, is also preparing to launch an international campaign if Qatari courts refuse to hand Adam back.

The Cassation Court in Doha refused to give her temporary custody last week and is now due to decide who should get full custody of the St Christopher's Junior School pupil this Thursday (November 12).

Mrs Jones left Bahrain with Adam on October 3 to visit her late Qatari ex-husband's family in Doha, leaving behind her husband of five years, Barrie, and the couple's four-year-old daughter Alex.

She earlier told the GDN that she and her son had spent two enjoyable days with the family, who were the "perfect hosts".

However, on the day they were due to return home, Mrs Jones received a call at their hotel requesting Adam be allowed to visit his ill grandmother.

She agreed and a driver was arranged to pick him up.

Mrs Jones said Adam, who has dual British and Qatari nationality, called to confirm he had arrived at the house safely and she was told he would return after one hour.

Instead, the 43-year-old was asked by one of Adam's uncles to meet him to discuss an issue surrounding her son's inheritance.

However, she claimed she was tricked into signing legal papers in Arabic, which allowed the Qatari family to file for custody of Adam.

The next day, Mrs Jones' husband flew in and the couple filed a kidnapping case with police and the Qatari Public Prosecution.

The couple have been staying in Doha since then to fight their case, leaving Alex in Bahrain with her nanny.

They are now in the middle of a custody battle to get Adam back to Bahrain, after being informed that his 77-year-old grandmother had filed for full custody.

Mrs Jones has now lodged an appeal with the British government, the Bahraini royal family and the Qatari Amir to reunite her with her son.

"We are appealing to all three governments to help our case because we have no one else to turn to," she told the GDN from Qatar yesterday (nov 8).

"Adam is a child who has been taken away from his caring and loving family and I will not rest until I get him back.

"We plead with them (the three governments) to intervene in our case to ensure that justice is prevailed and my child is back in my arms.

"I appeal to them as a mother to assist us in our struggle to get Adam back and to ensure a fair trial is served.

"All I want is for Adam to be reunited with his family where he belongs."

Mrs Jones also vowed to launch an international campaign if Qatari authorities failed to deliver.

She added that relatives would hold a Press conference in London on Thursday (nov 12) depending on the outcome of the trial.

"We are preparing to approach the international Press if the matter is not resolved on Thursday," she said.

"Family representatives will hold a Press conference in London this week to all major news agencies depending on the outcome of the trial

"But everything is on the shelf right now because we want to wait and see what will happen.

"I will go to any length to highlight this issue and I will never give up the fight."

Mrs Jones earlier said she had lost all hopes of a positive outcome at the end of last week's trial.

Her lawyer earlier submitted several documents supporting her case, including some relating to his schooling in Bahrain.

Papers showing he had enrolled in several programmes to learn about Arab culture were also presented to the judge, as part of the Qatari family's case centres around the fact that they believe it is wrong for him to be attending a British school.

Mrs Jones has not seen Adam since October 5 and says she has had no communication with her son's Qatari relatives.

Heady

The boy's friends, classmates and teachers earlier spoke of their shock and devastation at his sudden disappearance, while experts warned about the psychological impact the case could have on him and his mother.

Mrs Jones, who was born in Sheffield, moved to Bahrain in 1988 and married Adam's father 10 years later.

Adam was born the following year, but the couple divorced in late 1999.

His father Jamal returned to Qatar, but visited Bahrain frequently until he was killed in a motorbike accident in Qatar in November 2005.

Mrs Jones stayed in touch with his family and had taken Adam to visit relatives in Qatar several times since his father's death.

It is understood the Qatari family had originally planned to file the case last year, but as Mrs Jones was not in Qatar it was unable to get a court order to take Adam.
Deperate Mom takes global fight Deperate Mom takes global fight Reviewed by Bobby on 22:28 Rating: 5

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