The legal drama surrounding little Eitan has been cleared up for the time being: The six-year-old, the only survivor of the cable car accident on Lake Maggiore, is supposed to fly back to Italy with his aunt.
Jerusalem – The six-year-old boy Eitan, the only survivor of the cable car accident from Lake Maggiore, has to be brought back to Italy by December 12th.
This was decided by Israel’s highest court in Jerusalem on Monday, which upheld previous judgments of the family and district courts. With the decision, it rejected an application from the boy’s Israeli grandfather. The court found that he had kidnapped the child and wanted to keep him in Israel. According to the decision, the man also has to bear court costs of the equivalent of 7,000 euros.
The child is to be returned to the aunt’s care
The boy, who was the only one who survived the accident in May and who had lost both parents, his little brother and two great-grandparents, was flown to Israel in a private plane by his maternal grandfather in mid-September, contrary to a court order. Since the accident, the boy had previously lived with his aunt on his father’s side – Aya Biran-Nirko – in Pavia, Italy.
The Israeli ruling stated that the child must be returned to his aunt’s care in Italy. This is done in accordance with the Hague Child Abduction Convention, which both Israel and Italy have signed up to.
An attorney for the aunt said, according to Israeli television, that they responded to the verdict with relief. “It is the end of an unfortunate chapter that was harmful and superfluous, especially for little Eitan.” The grandfather’s side said, however, according to the report, that the State of Israel had with the judgment “given up a Jewish child and a helpless Israeli citizen “. You will continue to fight with legal means that he can come back to Israel.
An appointment before the juvenile court is due in Milan on Wednesday. There the grandfather and the family living in Israel want to have their aunt’s guardianship withdrawn.
According to media reports, the public prosecutor in Pavia has issued two international arrest warrants against the grandfather and an alleged accomplice. In addition, the extradition of the two men had been requested. The public prosecutor’s office in the northern Italian city accuses the men of strategically planning to bring the boy back to Israel. According to media reports, the accomplice was arrested in Cyprus on Thursday, but reportedly released on Monday until a hearing on December 2nd.
Eitan was born in Israel, according to the media, but moved to Italy with his parents shortly after he was born. His aunt Biran-Nirko said Pavia in Lombardy is the home of the boy who should have started school in September. The court in Jerusalem also found: “There can be no doubt that the focus of the minor’s life before his abduction to Israel was in Italy.”
According to the reports, his mother’s family living in Israel had argued that the parents had specifically planned to move back to Israel. The boy should grow up in Israel. The question of custody now needs to be resolved legally in Italy. dpa
