Father of abducted Amsterdam girl facing 9 years in prison for taking her to India

Prosecutors in the Netherlands recommended a nine-year prison sentence against Shehazad Hemani on allegations that he orchestrated the violent abduction of his two-year-old daughter, Insiya, nearly seven years ago. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) presented their argument in the appeal against Hemani and five co-defendants on Thursday

The girl was forcibly taken from her grandmother's home in Amsterdam-Oost in September 2016. Prosecutors described the incident as a meticulously planned abduction that took place when Hemani and the girl's mother, Nadiya Rashid, were going through a divorce. H. was convicted by a lower court of recruiting the other suspects, in part from abroad, and paying them to carry out the kidnapping.

One of the suspects was overpowered by bystanders at the scene, and taken into custody by police. The others fled with the child in a getaway car ready nearby, and were only arrested later. While on the run, they took the girl to Germany before smuggling her to her father's home in India, where she has remained to this day.

The 44-year-old remains the prime suspect in the case, as he masterminded the entire operation, the OM said. Prosecutors described it as "an unprecedented child abduction by Dutch standards."

Hemani should face the highest prison sentence, the OM said when presenting recommendations at the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. The OM demanded sentences ranging from 18 to 50 months against the five co-defendants accused of perpetrating the kidnapping. The other suspects are Robert B., Daniel C., Liz S., Erik S. and Huibert V. Another man, Willem V., was previously convicted and sentenced to 12 months in prison for his role in organizing the kidnapping. He did not join the appeal process.

Nadia Rashid, the mother of the now 10-year-old Insiya, made an extensive victim statement to the court on behalf of both herself and her daughter. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this statement "makes it very clear, in all respects, what the enormous impact of this case has had on her life and that of her family members."

Rashid has endured numerous legal proceedings against her ex-husband, also to maintain parental contact with her daughter. According to the woman, H. has sabotaged the possibilities of this happening "in a sadistic manner." Since 2018, Rashid has spoken to her daughter for a total of barely two hours using the online communications service Skype.

"I will not stop until Insiya is back home, here in the Netherlands, with me," Rashid said in her statement. According to the Dutch legal system, she alone has parental authority over the child, as H. lost his parental rights during one of the cases.

The District Court of Amsterdam previously convicted Hemani in absentia, and sentenced him to nine years in prison in 2020. He lives in India and is not attending the appellate court hearing. However, he is being represented by a lawyer.

The other suspects were given sentences of over than four years during the lower court trial. None of them are currently in custody. Only one of them, former police officer Huibert V., attended the court hearing on Thursday.

When calculating their sentence recommendations, the Public Prosecution Service took into account the fact that the case has been ongoing for a very long time. The Amsterdam court's ruling is expected on May 13.