Portugal delays handover of French mother accused of abandoning children

The regional prosecutor's office in Évora, southern Portugal, said on Tuesday that the Court of Appeal had issued a “partial refusal” to execute a European arrest warrant issued by the French authorities for Marine R.

However, the court agreed in principle that she could be handed over to France at a later stage so she can face prosecution for alleged offences “not committed on Portuguese territory”.

According to a judicial source speaking on behalf of the court, the French arrest warrant refers to suspected offences including the abduction of a minor, failure to fulfil parental legal obligations, abandonment of a minor under the age of 15, abandonment of a person unable to protect themselves and intentional violence against a minor under the age of 15.

A similar decision was issued last Thursday concerning Marine R's partner, Marc B, a 55-year-old French national.

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Proceedings in Portugal

The couple are currently being held in pre-trial detention in Portugal and have been charged with “endangering or abandoning” minors. Marc B is also under investigation for “aggravated assault” against one of the two boys.

Portuguese proceedings are expected to run their course before any extradition to France can take place.

According to the judicial source close to the case, Marc B may also be extradited once all Portuguese legal proceedings have been completed – including a possible trial and, in the event of a conviction, any prison sentence.

The case has drawn attention in both Portugal and France because of the age of the children and the circumstances in which they were found.

The two boys, aged four and five, were discovered on 19 May by a motorist on the side of the national road linking Alcácer do Sal to the seaside resort of Comporta, about 100 kilometres south of Lisbon.

The children were sitting by the roadside crying when they were found.

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Disappearance reported in France

Marine R and Marc B were arrested two days later near Fátima, in central Portugal.

French authorities had been searching for the mother and the two children since 11 May, when their disappearance was reported in Colmar, in eastern France.

While the Portuguese court's decision means the pair will not be handed over to France immediately, it leaves the door open for later extradition once the domestic case in Portugal has concluded.

The ruling also underlines the way European arrest warrants can be affected by parallel proceedings in another EU country.

In this case, Portuguese prosecutors are pursuing allegations linked to the children's abandonment on Portuguese territory, while French authorities are seeking to prosecute alleged offences connected to the family's disappearance from France.

For now, both suspects remain in custody in Portugal as the investigation continues.

(with newswires)