My husband ‘kidnapped’ our seven-year-old son and took him abroad – I’m tormented by my last moments with him
A DISTRAUGHT mum has told of her torment at losing her seven-year-old son she accuses her ex-husband of ‘kidnapping’ and taking abroad.
Ranem Elkhalidi says she dreams each night about her son Ibrahim and potentially being reunited with him, months after they were last together.
Their final moment together was when she dropped him off at primary school in Frodsham, Cheshire, last November 11.
And after what happened next, she now remains haunted by the fact she didn’t give him one last hug as they parted company.
Ranem did tell Ibrahim’s teacher his father would be picking him up at the end of the day – but it was not until the following Monday morning that she became concerned.
She was at home in nearby Helsby when she received a phone call from the school saying Ibrahim had not turned up for lessons.
She believes her ex-husband Hamzah Faraj abdjucted their son before fleeing to his native Saudi Arabia – but is frustrated by what she sees as a lack of help from police, who said her ex’s phone was out of service.
Ranem has now told the Mail: “I felt so helpless as I knew he had gone and every hour felt like a nightmare.”
She described crying all day and frantically trying to call Hamzah, only for her number to have been blocked.
Officers confirmed the following day her ex had flown out of the UK with their son 72 hours earlier – in defiance of a court order banning him from doing so.
And the lack of an extradition treaty between Britain and Saudi Arabia means Ibrahim can remain overseas in his native Jeddah.
Ibrahim’s bedroom remains as it was eight months ago – including a lightbox saying “Love you to the moon and back” – but Renam cannot bear to enter it, calling the prospect “too painful, too hard”.
She travelled to London this month for a meeting with the Foreign Office, begging for help alongside her constituency MP Mike Amesbury who is supporting her.
She insisted: “I will do what it takes – every mother would do the same.
“England is Ibrahim’s home – he was born here, grew up here. He has never been to Saudi Arabia before.”
She added: “I think about him all the time – I have nightmares every night where he’s outside but I can’t reach him and I wake up crying.”
Police figures for England and Wales show more than 200 offences of parental child abduction, with charity Action Against Abduction suggesting almost two-thirds of cases see children taken abroad.
Saudi-born Ranem and Hamzah, who is her cousin and eight years older, had a marriage arranged by their families when she was only 15.
They arrived in Britain as newlyweds in 2014, when she was allowed residence based on his student visa to study computer science at Liverpool University.
As their marriage struggled, she applied for refugee status in 2017 – handing over her passport, which she says means she cannot leave the country after she was given English travel documents instead.
She told her “controlling” husband in 2021 she wanted a divorce though promised he could continue to see Ibrahim.
After becoming concerned Hamzah wanted to take the boy to Saudi Arabia, she applied for a “prohibited steps” order which was granted by Liverpool Civil and Family Court on November 3 last year – eight days before she last saw Ibrahim.
Mr Amesbury raised the case with foreign secretary James Cleverly in the House of Commons last month.
The Labour MP for Weaver Vale called the situation “challenging” but insisted they were trying to apply “diplomatic pressure” on the Saudi government to help.
Cheshire Police have said Humzah’s details have been “circulated for child abduction on the national police database” with officers “continuing to do all they can to return the child to the UK”.
A GoFundMe page has been set up seeking donations to pay for legal help to bring Ibrahim back to Britain.