Slovakia is facing another international scandal due to the kidnapping of the child of an Ecuadorian with the blessing of the Slovak state authorities, opposition MP Natalia Blahová told a news conference on Monday. Blahová said that the Ecuadorian Parliament last week unanimously passed a resolution to send its justice minister, foreign affairs minister and ombudsman to Slovakia in order to address law enforceability at top diplomatic level. It was reacting to the case of the Ecuadorian native Marriela, who has tried for one year to gain access to the nine-year-old daughter that she had with a Slovak citizen but has been unable to do so despite decisions made by Slovak authorities and courts.
Blahová, a member of the parliamentary human rights committee, said that district and regional courts ordered that the child should return to her home country - Ecuador. According to the MP, the father of the minor has disrespected the verdicts of both courts. He has also been disrespecting court verdicts concerning the child's contact with her mother. The Slovak police did not help the mother, even though they were repeatedly notified about the non-observance of an official decision. Blahová said that the father had registered the child at a primary school in the village of Jakubov (Bratislava region) where his father is the mayor. The child's father has been taken on as an assistant teacher at the school and sits in the classroom with his child in order to guard her.
According to Blahová, the vice-chair of the Ecuadorian Parliament stated that "it's no longer about the need to pressure certain authorities; now national and international pressure must come". The family of the child's father has political power and influence over the idleness of the Slovak authorities, said Blahová, referring to the Ecuadorian media. "Therefore, we call on the justice minister, the labour, social affairs and the family minister and the foreign affairs minister to start acting and send signals heading towards cooperation with Ecuador," she added.
The Justice Ministry is prepared to cooperate with Ecuadorian bodies within the scope of its powers, the TASR press agency learnt on Monday. Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Drobová underlined that the ministry could not interfere in the pending court proceedings, as this would fly in the face of the Constitution. The Agent of the Slovak Republic before the European Court of Human Rights Marica Pirošíková stated that it was important for general courts not to make automatic or mechanical decisions concerning the girl's return but to take the best interest of the child into account - which might supersede the interests of the parent. The father's lawyer, Andrej Gara, underlined that the minor had not been put in the custody of the mother and that the parents had arrived at an agreement before their weeding to raise their child in Slovakia, where she attended kindergarten as well as school.
On Monday, the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry issued a statement informing that Ecuador had not yet contacted the Ministry with a request for a meeting or consultations regarding the case of an Ecuadorian girl allegedly held illegally in Slovakia by her Slovak father. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Peter Susko also pointed out that the ministry wielded no authority to intervene in the decision-making processes of Slovak courts.
