The mother of a two-year-old Irish citizen who is being held captive by his father in war-torn Lebanon has pleaded with the Taoiseach to help return her child saying: “We can’t leave him there my child is not safe, time is running out”.
Catherine Flanagan, aged 39, from Belfast has not seen her son David Nahle since January this year. He was taken from her by his father in August 2022 during a family holiday when he was 10 months old.
Dr Mustapha Nahle who is a consultant anaesthetist in Rafik Hariri University Hospital, refused to let his son David leave and his mother said she was forced to return home without the child.
David, who will be turning three soon, has both Irish and British citizenship. His mother said she organised four evacuation flights for him last week, but his father refused to allow the child travel.
A UK court order, issued on July 28, 2023, gave full custody to Ms Flanagan but to date it has been ignored by the child’s father.
Speaking to the Ms Flanagan said “We can’t leave David there, this is not about taking him from his father, his father can see him anytime, but he can’t stay in Lebanon, it’s too dangerous.
“I need the Taoiseach and Department of Foreign Affairs to help us, he is an Irish citizen, why is nobody helping?
“I feel like I am living somebody else’s life. I can’t afford to have feelings right now. I would get nothing done.
“All I do is eat for energy, sleep for mental health and I reset and go again. I am so worried he could be killed.”
Ms Flanagan wrote to the Taoiseach Simon Harris on October 4, asking him to intervene in the case.
“He has done nothing so far,” Ms Flanagan said. “He hasn’t even acknowledged the letter. I have organised four evacuation flights out of Lebanon for David, but that collapsed.
“David is a baby, he is in such a dangerous situation, there seems to be no urgency in this.”
Ms Flanagan met her husband on social media, and they were married in Lebanon in April 2021. She works in an aid agency.
“I never lived in Lebanon,” she said. “I always lived in Belfast, he came back and forward to Ireland, and he was trying to do the exams to get qualified as a doctor here with the health service.
“David was born here, and we went to meet his family in August 2022, and it all went wrong.
“His father was so controlling and intimidating on the holiday. He drugged me with intravenous diazepam and forced me to take lithium with his friend who is a doctor and we put this evidence all before the High Court. That’s how devious he is.
“I issued proceedings in the High Court in Belfast last summer, but David’s father has ignored them. The High Court later agreed to drop an arrest order against the child’s father if he allowed him on a flight to the UK. However, the evacuation deal collapsed when he did not show up.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it “is aware of this case and has provided advice and guidance. The department does not comment on the details of individual cases.” The Taoiseach’s office has been contacted.
