The father of the two French children who were abandoned in Portugal by their 41-year-old mother and her 55-year-old partner has broken his silence and revealed that he is awaiting authorisation from authorities to be reunited with his children.
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Speaking to the French channel Ici Alsace TV, the man, who did not wish to be identified, explained that he keeps his phone by his side day and night, waiting for the authorities to get in touch.
In an email sent to Ici Alsace TV the father wrote, “It is only a matter of days before I get my children back. I have thought about them every second since the Colmar police station contacted me to report that they were missing.”
The four- and five-year-old children were abandoned in southern Portugal on 19 May.
On Friday, António José Fialho, President of the Setúbal judicial district, said in a press release that “the children were living with their mother in France and that the parents are separated, with the father having limited, supervised visiting rights.”
In the statement sent to and broadcast by Ici Alsace TV, the children’s father also called for limited media attention.
“My children will have to rebuild their lives, just as I rebuilt mine, and they do not need to be reminded of this tragedy. I am not trying to defend or play down the acts that were committed. The facts remain serious and deeply shocking. I refuse to add words of hatred, insults or labels aimed at dehumanising a person, even if they are deemed guilty.”
The father concluded in his statement that he would only speak again once he had been “reunited” with his children.
Meanwhile, the children’s mother and her partner are being held in pre-trial detention in Portugal, on suspicion of having abandoned the two boys.
The accused, Marine Rousseau, will serve her pre-trial detention at Tires Prison, in the parish of São Domingos de Rana, in the municipality of Cascais, Lisbon district.
Her partner, also a defendant, Marc Ballabriga, has been transferred to Lisbon.
French authorities have made a request for the return of the two children.
The children were found 19 May by a passer-by, wandering near the 253 National Road in the district of Setúbal.
The mother and her partner were arrested two days later while sitting on the terrace of a café on the outskirts of the city of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém.
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