Abducted girl's father ignored multiple requests to give statement
The Dutch authorities have not yet succeeded in questioning the father of abducted Amsterdam girl Insiya. Several requests were made for Shehzad Hemani to make a statement, but so far he ignored all of them, was revealed on Monday during the first day of the trial against six men suspected of involvement in the girl's abduction, NOS reports.
The court gave the Public Prosecutor until May to get a statement from the Insiya's father. If Hemani can't be reached before then, the case will continue without his side of the story.
Insiya was violently abducted from her grandmother's apartment in Amsterdam in September 2016. She was 2 years old at the time. The Dutch authorities quickly concluded that her father was behind the kidnapping, but the girl had already been spirited away to Mumbai. She's been living there with her father ever since.
To date Hemani has never given the Dutch authorities a explanation for his actions. Insiya's mother, Nadia Rashid, has made countless attempts to get her back to the Netherlands, so far without success.
The Public Prosecutor believes that Hemani arranged for the six men to abduct Insiya from her grandmother's apartment. During a previous pro-forma hearing in the case, it was revealed that the abduction was a professionally coordinated action - the suspects spent months preparing for it.
According to the Prosecutor, the abduction was coordinated by former police officer Frederik S. He said that he thought he was doing the right thing at the time, but now regrets it.
Four of the six suspects failed to appear in court on Monday. According to their lawyers, they did not want the media attention. Two suspects are also afraid of losing their jobs. Another suspect, Robert B., is in the United States. He was overpowered by a neighbor during the abduction and could be arrested immediately. Earlier this year he was released from custody to await his trial in freedom.
The Public Prosecutor condemned the suspects' decision not to be present at their trial. "The six are suspected of serious facts and we want to see their reaction to the questions that are asked of them", the Prosecutor said, according to NOS.
