Sally Faulkner, the Australian mother at the centre of a failed attempt to ‘rescue’ her two children from Lebanon last week, could be facing into a prison sentence of up to 15 years if found guilty of child abduction.
The report comes just days after Sally was detained, along with crew of TV show 60 Minutes and members of a professional agency she had been working with. In all, nine individuals stood up in the Lebanese courts yesterday, all charged with child abduction.
This is the latest blow to Sally’s campaign to be reunited with her children, six-year-old Lahela and two-year-old Noah. The kids were taken to Lebanon by their father, Ali Elamine, who claimed he was bringing them there for a holiday; he later refused to return them to Sally in her native Australia, however.
Intent on getting her children back, Sally went to Lebanon earlier this month to work with a professional agency to ‘rescue’ them. Their journey was being filmed by the 60 Minutes crew.
According to reports, Sally was reunited with her children before authorities stepped in. She is said to have taken them into a waiting car while they were waiting at a bus stop for their grandmother.
Lebanese authorities are said to be taking the attempted abduction very seriously, while an Australian-Lebanese commission is working to deal with the situation.
We will keep you updated on the story as more information emerges.
