The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family denies having acted illegally when it made an ordinance by which an Italian citizen was allowed to take his two children out of the country without the consent of their mother, who is a Moldovan national. The accusations were made by the mother and the parliamentary ombudswoman for children’s rights Tamara Plamadeala in a news conference, IPN reports.

In a communique, the Ministry says that the Italian Justice Ministry demanded that the two children should be taken immediately back to their place of residence in Italy, describing the mother’s actions as international kidnapping. The documents provided by the Italian Ministry show that before the children traveled to Moldova, the parents consulted a psychologist. As a result, they were informed that the mother’s decision to move to live in Moldova together with the children was against the supreme interests of the children, who have a close relationship with both of the parents.
 

The Ministry also said that it acted in strict compliance with The Hague Convention’s provisions concerning the civil aspects of the international child kidnapping. Both Moldova and Italy are parties to this Convention, which stipulates that when a child is taken away or detained illegally and less than a year passes since the travel or return, the notified authorities must order that the children be immediately taken back following an application from the judicial or administrative authorities of the given state.

In a news conference on January 14, the mother of the children said that her son and daughter were illegally taken out of the country by their father based on an ordinance issued by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family. The woman said the man gave bribe in order to obtain such a decision, which he later transmitted to Italian courts. The courts ruled that the two children should stay with their father.