British mother appeals against jail term for accusing woman of kidnap

ABU DHABI // A British woman jailed for six months for claiming her estranged husband’s new partner had kidnapped her daughters is appealing against the sentence.

E L, a Briton, was originally sentenced by the Court of Misdemeanour for accusing the other woman, S, of the crime on Facebook. She was found guilty and received a jail term and a deportation order.

At her appeal, E L said she made the claim because her daughters had been missing for 32 days. She reported S and her husband to police after her daughters disappeared.

When she went to the police, they told her authorities already wanted the pair for other legal issues.

When the girls returned to the house, E L said they told her they were with S and their father. However, the father had spent four days in prison during that period.

“You can ask the children,” said E L, referring to the two young girls who were present during the hearing.

“Before they went missing, since November 2013 every weekend my husband would take them to S’s house.” S’s attorney said E L was not yet officially divorced from her husband.

They were separated and she did not have sole custody over the children, he said. Therefore, the father had the right to take them.

E L was originally convicted of committing an IT crime and given six months followed by deportation. The case was adjourned until December 30.