British woman arrested in custody battle

A BRITISH woman who defied a court order and fled the UK while embroiled in custody proceedings was arrested on Monday and remanded in custody for kidnapping a minor. The minor is question was her eight-year old daughter, over whom it appears the woman was trying to retain custody.

Interpol informed Cyprus police on January 13 that a European arrest warrant had been issued for 41-year-old Ann Sally Cook and for her 72-year-old mother, Glenys Cook, for kidnapping a minor.

The two women had violated a British court order by fleeing the UK while court proceedings were still underway – taking Ann Sally Cook’s eight-year old daughter with them – and moving to the occupied north.

A source in the British Bases told the Cyprus Mail that authorities in the north then “deported” the mother and daughter by dropping them off at the crossing, where British Bases police then handed them over to the Cyprus Republic police.

Divisional Commander of the Dhekelia Division SBA Police Jim Guy told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the woman and her child were “destitute”.

“She breached the court order by taking her daughter to Cyprus into the first place,” Guy said. “We handed her over to the Cyprus police and they executed the warrant.”

The Divisional Commander called the situation “very unfortunate”.

Police told the Cyprus Mail that the Welfare Department took custody over the eight-year girl after their arrest. The girl is currently staying in a Larnaca children’s home.

A court ruled on Tuesday that the girl’s mother would be remanded in custody until there was a ruling from the British courts on the matter.

Police said that the grandmother is still wanted by the police. Glenys Cook is believed to presently be staying somewhere in the north.

It is believed that the woman fled to escape divorce proceedings that may have led to the girl’s father retaining custody.

The woman will probably be ordered to return to the UK where she will face charges that will surely damage her efforts keep her daughter.
??

??

??

??

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.