The case involves two young boys, children of a Portuguese mother and a Peruvian father, who, according to the maternal family, were taken from Madrid, Spain, to Lima, Peru by their father without the mother’s knowledge on July 24, 2024.
The children, who were two and four years old at the time, were placed under the provisional exclusive custody of their mother in June of this year, following a preliminary injunction filed in a Peruvian court. They remain in the South American country awaiting a final decision.
Today, the children’s maternal grandfather and uncle submitted an open letter with over a thousand signatories to the Presidency of the Republic, the office of the prime minister, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding Portugal’s intervention.
The family, in a statement, noted that among the signatories are three former presidents of the Assembly of the Republic—João Mota Amaral, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, and Augusto Santos Silva—as well as several former ministers from both the Social Democratic and Socialist parties, including Miguel Cadilhe and José António Vieira da Silva.
The signatories also include various figures from the Catholic Church, such as the former president of Caritas, Eugénio da Fonseca, and Father Lino Maia, president of the National Confederation of Solidarity Institutions (CNIS).
During the delivery of the open letter, the family also requested a meeting with the President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel.
In the letter, the signatories claim that the case of the Luso-Peruvian children is of a criminal nature, involving the “international abduction of children,” and complain that the proceedings have not been prioritized by the Peruvian and Spanish courts.
“Without detracting from the recognition of the importance of the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, the signatories of this letter appeal to the President of the Republic and the Government for more effective intervention with the official entities of Peru and Spain in defense of the human rights of two children and their mother, Portuguese citizens,” the document states.
The open letter also urges Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Government to use their “influential power” to address “the fragility of European legislation,” which allows a parent to travel “with their minor children outside of Europe without the necessary knowledge and express consent of the other parent.”
