Background
UK Court Proceeding
Following the breakdown in our relationship Edyta Sonta almost immediately started to alienated my daughter from me, preventing regular contact with my daughter Rhian, this resulted in court proceedings in the UK family courts to ensure my loving and caring relationship with my daughter could continue. This culminated in a court case lasting 3 days in which the courts considered my request for more contact time with my daughter and Edyta Sonta's request to remove Rhian from the UK permanently
Leave to remove from the UK to Poland
On April 5th 2018 the UK Family Courts issued a court order which prohibited the permanent removal of Rhian from the UK to Poland. The family courts at that time also significantly inncreased my contact time with Rhian. Three months later Rhian was criminal abducted to Poland by her mother Edyta Sonta.
Legal Proceedings Post Rhian's Abduction
Following Rhian's abduction to Poland the UK family court issued a court order, which called for Rhian's immediate return to the UK, this court order was ignored by Rhian's abductor Edyta Sonta. Subsequently the High Court of London issued a High Court order, again ordering the return of Rhian to the UK, this was also ignored by Rhian's abductor.
In the meantime, a case was brought against Edyta Sonta under the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - 1980 Hague convention for the return of Rhian to the UK. Following a 3 day hearing in Poland the Lodz District Court concluded that Rhian's removal from the UK was unlawful and that there was no reasons under article 13b of the 1980 Hague Convention as to why Rhian could not be returned to the UK with her abductor Edyta Sonta.
Edyta Sonta appealed the decision of the Lodz District Court and on July 19th 2019 the Warsaw Appeal Court - Poland dismissed her appeal, stating that there was no evidence of any sort of abuse of either the mother or Rhian and that there were no barriers preventing Rhian and her abductor returning to the UK. Subsequently Rhian's return to the UK was ordered, which was again ignored by Rhian's abductor Edyta Sonta.
With the support of the Polish Children's Ombudsman Rhian's abductor made a Cassation Appeal to the Supreme Court of Poland. The Polish Supreme Court dismissed the Polish Children's Ombudsman Cassation Application and again Rhian's return to the UK was ordered.
At this point in time Rhian's abductor has ignored court orders issued by the UK and Polish Family Courts, all of whom have unanimously dismissed the false legations made by Rhian's abductor and all of whom unanimously ordered the return of Rhian to the UK, by this time, with or without her abductor Edyta Sonta.
Additional legal proceedings were started in 2020 for the enforcement of court orders issued in the jurisdiction of the English & Welsh courts in Poland under what is known as Brussels IIa. Following three court hearings in 2021 in the Family Court in Piotrkow Trybunaslki Poland, the court in December 2022 again ordered the enforcement of the court orders issued in the UK family courts in Poland for the return of Rhian to the UK and again Rhian's abductor Edyta Sonta refused to comply and my daughter remains illegally detained in Poland with the full knowledge of the Polish Government and Polish organs of state, including Polish Courts, Public Prosecutor and Police.
To-date seven recovery attempts have taken place, all of which I have attended at the direction of the Polish courts, each attempt to recover Rhian including at the directions of the Polish courts the forcible removal of Rhian from her abductor for her return to the UK have failed. They have failed because the Polish authorities have notified Rhian's abductor Edyta Sonta that they are going to remove Rhian from her for Rhian's return to the UK, consequently she goes into hiding and avoids detection and Rhian's return to the UK.
This is all supported by the Polish Government who openly refuse to return British & EU Children unlawfully abducted to and illegally detained in Poland.