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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN
Dylan turned 3 on January 8, 2010. In a brief Skype connection he and his dad managed their first contact in almost a year. Dylan remembered his dad and proudly showed him birthday toys before grinning mischievously and asking that he and dad did the "haka" together. Dylan slapped his hands on his thighs, showing that he had not forgotten the actions to the "haka" that he first learned with his dad when he was just one-year-old.
PARENTAL ABDUCTION IS CHILD ABUSE - SAYS UN REPORT>>>
DYLAN – KIDNAPPED FOR A THIRD TIME
Istanbul, Turkey, August 1, 2009
It's official - Dylan has been abducted for a third time - this time in a deliberate move to block a legal custody access by his dad, Bruce.
Click here to watch Fox TV News on Dylan's latest kidnapping (Turkish)
Click here to read story in Turkey's largest newspaper, Hurriyet (Turkish)
Click here to read story in New Zealand's largest newspaper, the NZ Herald
Bruce went with Turkish court officials today to the house in Istanbul where Dylan has been kept since being abducted from New Zealand in 2007. Although some of Dylan's toys were there, the little Kiwi citizen had been taken away in astounding disregard for the Turkish court order or Dylan's best interests in being able to spend time with his dad.
This is the third time Dylan has been abducted - each time with a story about ill health. Firstly, Dylan's mother said her return to New Zealand after her 3-week "holiday" in May, 2007, was a result of her ill health. A year ago she amazingly claimed (in writing) that Dylan needed to be taken to seaside as he had an iron deficiency and this time her sister says Dylan was taken away from the house as he was ill. This final excuse drew the unanimous response that it is normal when a person is ill to stay at home.
A LETTER TO DYLAN
Seoul, Korea, July 31, 2009
Dear Dylan
Here I sit in an airport lounge on my fourth trip around the world to see you, my darling little son. You are just two-and-a-half years old yet the All Black jersey and shorts I have bought for you are for a 6-year-old. You are such a big boy.
I arrive in Istanbul from Auckland tonight with no guarantee that you will be in my arms tomorrow. This is despite the fact that the Turkish Family Court has ordered I have custody of you within the confines of the city of Istanbul during February and August each year while the matter is before the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.
Your mother rang me in the early hours of July 19 to tell me she was taking you away from Istanbul because you needed sun and sea and that you would not be back until after the end of August.
This appalling lack of concern for your best interests – the right to see your daddy – is exactly what she did one year ago (see story below). On that occasion I did not travel to Turkey as I had no guarantee of seeing you. The Istanbul police went to the house, established that you had been abducted (for a second time) but no action was ever taken.
When we were finally reunited in February, 2009, it has been a whole year – from age 1 until age 2 – yet you remembered me and we had a wonderful month together.
At the end of that month, in front of a court official, your mother and her sisters agreed that there would be weekly Skype contact so our bonding could continue. As soon as I left the country they cut off all contact. There has not been a minute since that I don’t think about you.
In February they informed me they had stopped speaking English to you – all part of an obvious plan to try and break the bond between us.
Dylan, you will read this one day and you will make your own enquiries and you will discover that everything I say is the absolute truth. A file of all papers and emails, including those from your mother promising again and again to bring you home, has been kept in a secure location for you to read when you are ready.
You were stolen from your own daddy, from your home and from your country. You were taken to a foreign land and that is where you are being held. You have a large, loving family in your homeland, all desperate to see you and welcome you home. Your sister, Gerry, sends her hugs and kisses.
Sadly, your grandfather died on June 11, his final wish being to see you again in his lifetime. He loved you very, very much. James Rennick Laybourn was a very special man, whose huge hands you have inherited. You also inherited his second name, Rennick, which was passed to me and then to you.
The fight for us to be together will never end.
If you are not delivered into my care on the morning of August 1, I will go with police to the Istanbul address of your mother’s parents and elder sister, where you have been kept since being abducted from New Zealand in 2007. Hopefully the call I received was nothing more than a cruel hoax and we can begin our month together.
If you have been taken I will spend every minute looking for you my precious wee man. If I have to post your photo as a kidnapped boy in major newspapers I will do this.
They will never break our bond or our love.
Everyone who sees us knows instantly that we are father and son. Not only do we look alike, we are so much alike. We are both very determined. The apple did not fall far from the tree.
I love you dearly Dylan. Hang in there son, daddy is on the way.
All my love,
Dad
Dylan's grandfather dies without realising his dream
"We wonder if we will ever see him again in our lifetime"
In a poignant reminder of Dylan’s plight, his grandfather – after whom he
is named – died on June 11. The funeral service of James Rennick Laybourn
was held in Hamilton yesterday, Wednesday, June 17.
Known as “Ren” he died without realising his dream to see Dylan again
in his lifetime. In part of his eulogy, Dylan's dad, Bruce Rennick Laybourn, said: ”I am proud to carry
Rennick as my second name and have passed it on to my little son Dylan. I
am sad that Ren’s desire to see Dylan again in his lifetime was not
fulfilled.”
Here is Ren’s entry on the Dylan’s petition site ...
Mar 10, 2009, Ren & Mina LAYBOURN, New Zealand Delete Signature Delete
I AM DYLAN'S PATERNAL GRANDFATHER. MY WIFE & ARE BOTH AGED 85 YEARS. WE
LAST SAW DYLAN WHEN HE WAS A FEW WEEKS OLD & WONDER IF WE WILL EVER SEE
HIM AGAIN IN OUR LIFETIME. IT DISTRESSES ME GREATLY TO SEE MY WIFE, WHO IS
IN ILL HEALTH SITTING WITH TEARS RUNNING DOWN HER FACE WHILE SHE GENTLY
STROKES DYLAN'S PHOTOGRAPH. PLEASE PLEASE HELP US GET OUR WEE MAN BACK
HOME. OUR HEARTS BREAK FOR OUR SON BRUCE & WE WISH HIM ALL OUR LOVE & BEST
WISHES. WE ARE BEHIND YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. YOU ARE OUR SON & WE LOVE
YOU, LIKE YOU LOVE YOURS.
Ren was an ex president of the Mt Maunganui RSA who fought and won voting
rights for women, some of his colleagues believing this was a national
first that then spread to other RSAs. He trained as a pilot and navigator
in the Second World War, training in Canada, but arrived in the UK just as
hostilities were ending. He was an ex teacher & headmaster. Ren is
survived by his wife, Mina, six children and 11 grandchildren.
All children and grandchildren – except Dylan - were at his bedside when
he died in Waikato Hospital on June 11. Ren and Mina saw Dylan just once –
when he was just a few weeks old.
Nightmare battle over little Kiwi citizen
Click here to read full story from New Zealand Herald>>>
Today marks 2 years since Dylan abducted from New Zealand
Auckland, May 4, 2009
This sad anniversary sits as a tragic indictment of both the Hague Convention on Child Abduction and the indifference of the New Zealand government to the plight of an infant citizen.
Four-month-old Dylan was taken by his mother, Gulsen Nil Laybourn and his grandmother Hatice Cicek for a 3-week holiday to Turkey. They left Auckland International Airport on May 4, 2007. Gulsen and Dylan were booked to return home on May 28, 2007.
On May 25, Dylan father, Bruce Laybourn, received an email from Gulsen stating that she was not returning and that “you will not see you only son grow up.”
Family tries to break bond between Kiwi father & son
Dylan’s mother and her family appear to be repeating their tactics of last year to try and break the extraordinarily loving bond between Dylan and his dad.
Promises in front of a Turkish court official in Istanbul at the end of February that there would be weekly Skype contact between father & son have been broken.
All contact has been cut off.
All loving emails and texts have been ignored!
When Dylan’s incredible month with his “baba”: came to a sad end on February 28, the promise was made – with a court official present – that Skype contact would be arranged. Dylan’s dad offered to pay for repairs to a laptop to enable this to occur.
This heartless communication blackout, in utter disregard for Dylan’s well-being or the cruelty to his dad, is the identical tactic used last year – when the family managed to keep father & son separated for a whole year.
Bruce Laybourn’s legal rights to custody of Dylan last August were ruthlessly denied when Dylan was removed to an unknown destination for the whole month – an action that incredibly remains unpunished by the Turkish courts.
Appeal lodged today
April 29, 2009, Ankara, Turkey
The appeal was lodged today against the rejection by the Istanbul Family Court on March 24 of the application for the return of Dylan to New Zealand.
Any news of the Supreme Court hearing and its timing will be posted as soon as possible.
Judge rejects Dylan's case - the appeal begins!
March 24, Istanbul, Turkey
Thousands of friends and family will be shattered to learn that the judge in the Istanbul Family Court today rejected the case for Dylan's return to New Zealand.
 
After a short hearing, the judge ruled against the applications for Dylan's return, lodged under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.
It is expected that the written reasons for this decision will take two weeks to become available.
Dylan's father, Bruce Laybourn, announced that plans were already underway for a vigorous appeal campaign. He said he expects the New Zealand Central Authority of the Hague Convention to lead the way with an appeal to its counterpart authority in Turkey.
"What is the point of important international laws against such an abhorrent crime as child abduction if they can be cast aside on a technicality?" he asked.
“ We had been informed that Turkey had invoked Article 36 of the Hague Convention. This, in essence, allows technicalities to be set aside that may stand in the way of justice being achieved. If ever there was a tragic case that fits this situation, it is Dylan’s abduction.
"The Hague Convention sets a time frame of six weeks for the return of a child yet Dylan has now been in Turkey for nearly two years. This is an absolute scandal and a huge comfort to anyone planning to abduct a child."
The case was to be conducted by the Republic of Turkey against Dylan’s mother for keeping him in Turkey beyond the 3-week holiday taken in 2007 – an action that constitutes abduction.
At the February 17 hearing the Public Prosecutor was not present and the judge required more information about the rules of the Hague Convention.
Turkish lawyer, Nedim Yuca, attending on behalf of Bruce Laybourn as a "particpant lawyer" had stated that as both parents and son are New Zealand citizens, there should be a ruling that Dylan be returned to his homeland. If there were issues between the parents the correct place for these to be resolved was in New Zealand.
Kiwi dad and his only son
- incredible bonding after 12 months enforced separation
“Dylan and I are bonding closer and closer every day. We don’t just look alike but it is very clear that this apple did not fall far from the tree.
“We have an extraordinarily love and connection – not just the overt but the subtle look, the grin, the little touch, squeeze of the hand or longing gaze.
“Dylan calls for ‘baba’ from his cot, greets me every morning with a smile that melts my heart. We hug, we wrestle, we have water fights in the shower, and I get a morning gym workshop hoisting him skyward until my arms and shoulders ache. We read books quietly, we play with toys noisily and we cuddle with a sincerity that brings tears to my eyes.
“It is inconceivable that I will be flying home a third time since Dylan was abducted in May, 2007, leaving my little Kiwi son behind. As well, Dylan continues to miss out on having daily contact with his own daddy. My wee man is bound to be confused about the absence of his ‘baba’ in his life."
The incomparable excitment at being reunited after 12 months!
   
January 31, 2009 Istanbul, Turkey
What an incredible day. After four months silence, Dylan’s mother, Nil, finally answers a text and suggests we have a day together with Dylan - a day before he is due to begin a month’s custody with me.
Like a bad movie, the tension increases the closer I get to what I have been dreaming about for a year – being with Dylan.
First traffic gridlock forces the cabbie to abandon the favoured waterfront route along the Bosphorus and we turn back for an alternative inland route. Then he gets lost and picks up a bystander who rides shotgun and navigator.
As we near the house I swear I can hear my heart above the mayhem of Istanbul. Outside, the cabbie and I stand in the cold and wait. He smokes. I pace.
Nil appears at the door with Dylan. I melt, but must be calm for my wee man. Unlike his parents, Dylan is genuinely calm. He looks at me and smiles. HE REMEMBERS! He is a little coy but happily jumps on my knee for the ride to mall. No children car seats here in Turkey so I’m hanging on to my most precious cargo.
Dylan has an active mind and clearly needs constant stimulation and entertainment. He studies my face and invites an interaction. He speaks Turkish but understands some English. We join in a chorus of car noises to compete with the traffic outside and he giggles with delight at my pathetic attempts, then snuggles closer.
I draw on the steamed up window and he asks me to draw “babee.” Soon there is a row of smiling baby faces.
At the mall Dylan races to choose a ball at a toy shop and sends it flying across the marble courtyard with a powerful left foot kick. Soon father and son are charging around the mall in utter joy, totally oblivious to the startled shoppers dodging the random path of the game. The occasional kid joins in, trapping and returning the ball with pinpoint accuracy.
Dylan is allowed another choice to occupy him while dad and mum have lunch and talk. Naturally, he chooses a drum, not the most welcome restaurant accessory - but what the heck? He picks up a drumstick and belts it a hearty blow left-handed.
My boy is a leftie. It’s such a small thing but it whacks me a mighty emotional blow. If I didn’t even know he was left-handed what else have I to learn about my darling wee man?
One thing – he has never been on an escalator, mum having cautiously only used mall elevators. We’re off again – up, down, around again, then again and again. Will my son ever tire? I hope not. I’m ready to play with him every minute – I’ve so much time to make up.
Today is February 1, the first day of my delicious one-month custody. I am at breakfast watching a weak, watery sun attempting to break through the cloud.
But what matters the weather or even the location in my quest to Bring Dylan Home. I’d be on Mars if it meant spending time with my darling wee man.
DYLAN TURNS 2 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING WEE SON
Dylan turned 2 on January 8, 2009 – marking 20 months since he was abducted from New Zealand and almost a year since he saw his daddy.
Dylan’s dad, Bruce, says he has no idea whether his infant son had the joy of opening the Christmas and birthday presents sent by him to Istanbul.
All attempts at communication has been met with silence. Presents were also sent by Dylan’s uncles, aunties and cousins in New Zealand. Most chose books with New Zealand themes so Dylan can both learn English and learn about his homeland.
Presents sent for Christmas, 2007, and Dylan 1st birthday were returned unopened to New Zealand.
DYLAN'S CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAY PRESENTS SENT BACK
This box of presents to Dylan from his Daddy was sent back from Istanbul to Auckland, in January, 2007. Sadly, therefore, on his First Birthday and First Christmas, Dylan received nothing from his Daddy
Dylan removed from Istanbul to block father's access
In August, 2008, Dylan was taken out of Istanbul to block legal access that had granted for Bruce with Dylan by the Turkish Family Court. Bruce had no choice to cancel air tickets and accommodation that was planned when it became obvious Dylan had been taken away to an undisclosed destination.
As well, regular Skype connections that had previously been the only contact for father and son, have been cut off. These Skype sessions were often marked by the pitifully sad sight of a little boy reaching out to the computer image of his daddy, hoping to be picked up and cuddled.
A SHAME TO AN OLD SOLDIER'S MEMORY
• Dylan’s Great Grandfather, Archie Johnston, fought at Gallipoli with A Company, 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, when only 17.
Awarded the Military Cross for gallantry, Archie had no hestitation fighting for his country. Archie would turn in his grave if he knew that his country will not fight for his precious little Kiwi Great Grandson.
Archie, pictured here as a 17-year-old at Gallipoli and with Turkish embassy officials when in his 90s, always voiced his admiration for Turkish fighting qualities and sense of fair play.
Until he died, Archie (Regimental No 15-108) referred to his Turkish foes affectionately as 'Johnny Turk.'
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