AKRON — Sara Edwards said she had no tears left. She’d cried until she could cry no more over the loss of her toddler son in early 2010. So seeing him briefly last week was almost more than Edwards could handle.
Edwards pleaded her case to a judge in Turkey that her estranged husband had taken Eli was holding the boy illegally.
After the hearing, Edwards was permitted to see Eli briefly at a local zoo and spend a few hours reconnecting before boarding a return flight to Ohio. Edwards had not expected to see Eli on the visit, so she had prepared herself emotionally for disappointment.
The Akron mother had not seen Eli since March, 2010. That’s when Eli’s father, Muhammed Kiraz, signed documents promising to return the boy to Akron after a two-week visit to Kiraz’s home country of Turkey. However, once the pair reached Europe, Kiraz filed for a hasty divorce and sent Edwards an email telling her he would never return the boy to her.
Eli was 2 years old when he boarded that flight, but now he’s a 3-and-a-half. She’s been detailing her plight online for more than a year.
Edwards said she was encouraged by the testimony of Turkish prosecutors who agreed that Eli’s custody and citizenship mandate his return to the United States. The next hearing is set for mid-September.
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Website: http://www.bringelihome.com/
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