Edition 296
www.thecourier.es
Friday 4th November 2016
HOME IMPRISONMENT Mum Keeps Kids Out Of Sight
BY ALEX TRELINSKI
T
he Guardia Civil have arrested a Swiss woman of Spanish origin, who kept her children captive for seven years at various Costa Blanca addresses, and threatened to kill them if they ever tried to get help. The woman faces domestic violence and illegal imprisonment charges. The youngsters, now 17 and 15, had never gone to school during their time in the area and only once was one of them allowed medical attention, for an upset stomach at the Almoradi medical centre. No reason has been suggested as to why the children were treated as virtual prisoners. "The children's signatures during Guardia interviews were exactly the
same as those on their Swiss ID cards from seven years ago, the writing looks like that of a small child who has not developed his writing," said a Guardia spokesman. The youngsters could not speak Spanish and spoke to each other in English. The 17-year-old daughter managed to evade her mother's surveillance at the end of August and send an email to the ANAR Foundation, which helps children in trouble and sounded the alarm. She had allegedly been the victim of violence from her mother, who prohibited either of her children to have any contact with the outside world. She added that they were only allowed out on the streets for a short while every day
for quick shopping errands or walks, but under strict surveillance. Their 49-year-old mother was allegedly particularly brutal towards her daughter, "hitting her, pushing her against walls or furniture and throwing cutlery or any other object she had in her hands," said the Guardia. The daughter had not dared ask for help until then, as she "had been under constant threat of death from when she was little." Her mother "said on various occasions that she would kill them if they spoke to police and that police would rape and kill them anyway - an idea with which they grew up," the Guardia Civil said. In her ANAR email, the daughter said this situation had started back in
Switzerland when she was only three or four, and had continued when her mother moved to Spain in 2009. They constantly moved around the Costa Blanca, living in six different homes in seven years in Arenales del Sol, La Marina village, Rojales and Catral, and it was from their La Marina address that the girl sent her message. The mother's Swiss partner, 30, was also detained for covering up the situation. After a foundation tip-off, police tracked down the house where the siblings were living in Catral, and they had only been there for a month at their current address on Calle MĂşsicos Hermanos Aguilar. "Agents went there immediately and the mother denied anyone was being held there, and also denied that any minor was living there," the Guardia Civil said. "The girl, who heard the agents speaking to her mother, started gesticulating in the corridor to attract their attention, and the two children were rescued," it added. The daughter has since returned to Switzerland to her biological father. A judge decided to let the brother whom police said was not the victim of violence like his sister - return to his home in Catral, where his mother and her partner have been released pending trial.
BLOW
Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the European Union, the High Court has ruled. Yesterday’s news means the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - beginning formal discussions with the EU - on its own. Theresa May had said that the Brexit referendum and ministerial powers meant that MPs did not need to vote, but campaigners argued successfully that it was unconstitutional. May had said she will activate Article 50, formally notifying the EU of the UK's intention to leave, by the end of next March, but that timetable appears to be in serious danger, with potentially many months of parliamentary hurdles. The government will appeal against the decision, with a further hearing to be held in the Supreme Court.