Partner, Forum Shah and Associate, Gemma Adams, instructing Mani Basi of 4PB represented the mother, Samira Addou, in an application for committal of the father, Sidali Bennabi, for breach of orders requiring him to return the parties child (“Z”), who is now 4 years old, from Algeria to this jurisdiction.

Background to proceedings

The parties were both born in Algeria. The father moved to England in 1996 and met the mother in 2017 in Algeria. The parties married in Algeria in 2018, and the mother joined the father in England on a spousal visa in 2018. On 30 November 2021, the father left Z and the mother stranded in Algeria at the end of a visit there while he returned to England. The father retained the passports of Z and the mother and issued divorce proceedings in Algeria. The mother, with the assistance of the British Embassy in Algeria, returned to England on 1 February 2022, but was unable to bring Z with her, and so he remained in Algeria with his paternal family. The mother has not seen Z since this time, now almost 2 years and 9 months ago.

The mother’s application to court

The mother applied on 6 May 2022 for Z to be made a ward of the court and for his summary return to England. On 9 May 2022, Z was made a ward of the court and after a contested two-day final hearing on 6 July 2022, which the father attended and where he was legally represented, an order was made for the father to return Z to this jurisdiction by 15 July 2022. This order was not appealed. The father did not comply with this order, nor with three subsequent return orders that were made between this date and 16 September 2022 – the date in which the father was able to leave this jurisdiction and travel to Algeria, despite various Tipstaff Orders being in place.

Following this, various attempts were made and exhausted to try and yield Z’s return to this jurisdiction, which included a further 10 return orders being made, a committal order made by Mr Justice Francis dated 2 December 2022, various freezing orders in respect of the father’s bank accounts in England, and a sequestration order in respect of the father’s property in England – none of which secured Z’s return.

The father’s application before the Master of the King’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice

Mr Justice Peel describes that with “breathtaking insouciance”, the father, without notice to the mother, applied on 20 September 2023 to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court to register an order of the Algerian court granting him custody of Z. This application came before a Master in the King’s Bench Division on 22 November 2023 and was granted. Despite the father being legally represented, the court was not made aware of the relevant history, including (i) the fact that Z was a ward of court, (ii) the existence of the various return orders and (iii) the committal order dated 2 December 2022. The mother was only made aware of the father’s application on 5 January 2024. The Master’s order was subsequently set aside by Mr Justice Francis at a hearing on 8 March 2024, at which the father was legally represented.

Following this hearing, and despite a further return order being made, the father confirmed to the mother’s solicitors via email that he would not be returning Z to this jurisdiction. Despite the mother and the courts best efforts, it was concluded that there was nothing further this court could do and proceedings were therefore adjourned with liberty to restore the matter to court.  

The father’s return to England

On Saturday 21 September 2024, the father was arrested as he re-entered England – following the Tipstaff being notified of his return as Tipstaff Orders remained in place. The father was remanded in custody and brought before the court on Monday 23 September 2024. This hearing was adjourned to Tuesday 24 November 2024 to allow the father the opportunity to secure legal representation, but when the matter came before the court the following day, the father was unrepresented. This hearing was then adjourned again to 3 October 2024 to allow additional time for the father to secure legal representation. The father remained in custody during this time.

On 3 October 2024, the father had still not secured legal representation, and so with the assistance of the CALA Duty Advocate Scheme, legal representation by way of solicitors and Counsel were able to attend court quickly to assist the father. The matter was subsequently adjourned to allow representatives for the father sufficient time to consider the papers and take instructions. The father remained in custody pending the next hearing.

The matter returned to court before Mr Justice Peel on 16 October 2024. Prior to this hearing, a further committal application was submitted on behalf of the mother for the father’s alleged breaches of various return orders. This application was considered at this further hearing, alongside the application to activate the sentence imposed at the committal hearing on 2 December 2022.

The father was found to be in contempt of court on three counts, having breached return orders dated 11 May 2023, 29 March 2024 and 23 September 2024. A sentencing hearing was listed on 23 October 2024 where Mr Justice Peel imposed a prison sentence of 16 months, which was reduced to 13 months to take account of time already served since the father arrived in England.

This is a very serious case of wrongful retention which has resulted in a mother missing the last almost 2 year and 9 months of Z’s short life. The father has shown throughout these proceedings, an “expressed determination” not to comply with orders of the High Court of Justice, and this sentencing judgment provides a clear and helpful warning to those who breach court orders – the seriousness and extent of what the repercussions of this could be.

Read the main judgment and sentencing judgment here:

Main judgment: Samira Addou v Sidali Bennabi [2024] EWHC 2702 (Fam)

Sentencing judgment: Samira Addou v Sidali Bennabi [2024] EWHC 2703 (Fam)

Should you need any advice about family proceedings concerning children, we at Dawson Cornwell would be happy to assist you with this. Please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0)20 7242 2556 or mail@dawsoncornwell.com 

Forum Shah

Gemma Adams

Please note that this blog is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content of this blog.