TAMPA, Fla. — A Bay area mother is pleading to the government for help to get her son back from the Middle East after his father kidnapped him.
- Rachelle Smith, Ali Salamey share custody of son Dexter, 3
- Salamey took Dexter to Lebanon on August 24
- Lebanon not part of any international agreements on child abductions
“I'm here to beg for any and all help to get my little boy returned,” said Rachelle Smith as she stood outside Tampa Police Headquarters Wednesday afternoon.
Smith says Ali Salamey took their son Dexter, 3, to Lebanon August 24. He was supposed to bring the child back home as part of a custody sharing agreement.
Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, and is not part of an international agreement on child abductions. Therefore, Salamey cannot be forced to return to America.
“Our law enforcement authorities, the FBI, the department of Homeland Security or the Tampa Police Department are essentially helpless because he's in Lebanon right now, and the state of Lebanon takes a position that they will not comply with U.S. authorities and our laws,” said Patrick LeDuc, an attorney for Smith.
Alex Stavrou, Salamey’s attorney, received an email from his client saying he left the country because he felt the system was “biased” and he couldn't get a fair hearing. He tells us he did not know his client would leave the country.
“While the parties were involved in very contentious litigation, I would have never thought that he would have taken any attempts to separate the child from his mother,” Stavrou said.
LeDuc has contacted the State Department and Florida senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio for help in this case.