Girl, 4, reunited with mom; father lured back to U.S.
Published: August 2, 2005
A 4-year-old girl illegally taken to Egypt during a custody dispute is back with her Jersey City mother after investigators lured the toddler’s father back to the United States, officials say.
Handi El-Saib, 64, formerly of Elizabeth, was caught Thursday by Port Authority police at Kennedy International Airport, more than two years after he abducted his daughter and fled to Egypt, according to authorities.
On July 26, 2003, El-Saib picked up his daughter from her mother’s Jersey City home during a custodial visit, authorities said. But when they hadn’t returned three days later, investigators issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of making terroristic threats, witness tampering and endangering the welfare of a child; a charge of interfering with custody was added last year.
Egypt doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States, so El-Saib couldn’t be forced to return to this country. But he came back willingly after authorities told him he was eligible to receive a green card.
Instead, El-Saib walked into a trap set by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The heart-felt reunion proved confusing for the girl, who for the past two years lived in Egypt with her father and his girlfriend, said a Hudson County sheriff’s officer who was at the reunion.
“The little girl only knew the girlfriend as the mother, and she was screaming for her mother and father,” said the officer, who declined to be identified by name. “She was 2 when she was taken and now she is 4, so a lot has changed.”
The investigation team was comprised of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.
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