NEW ZEALAND’S SHAME – FAILING TO FIGHT FOR A CITIZEN

The saga of indifference to the plight of a Kiwi infant makes appalling and frightening reading ....

Prime Minister John Key, himself a father of young children, has not even acknowledged Dylan’s case despite hundreds of emails to him from New Zealanders demanding action to rescue Dylan. These can be read at ...   http://www.bringdylanhome.co.nz/?sayings

New Zealand officialdom’s efforts to rescue Dylan
Score out of 10 ... 0  Couldn’t care less
                             10  Committed to New Zealand citizens

Rodney Hide ………………….. 1
Dylan’s MP when the family were living in Newmarket, Auckland
Seemed more interested in the opportunities this family tragedy might offer him. Full of indignant bluster when visited by Dylan’s dad. His loud approach to Foreign Affairs led to the infamous letter from Wellington advising the Turks that they hadn’t recognised New Zealand’s membership of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. As a result Turkey, which had begun action to return Dylan, stopped the case, a senior Istanbul court official sympathetically informing Mr Laybourn: “Your own country has stabbed you in the back.” Rodney Hide’s sole point is for actually meeting Mr Laybourn, although his followup was non-existent.

Judith Tizard …………………….. 0
MP for Auckland Central when Dylan abducted
Tizard was my MP when I moved from our family home in Newmarket after the abduction. Despite two calls and a lengthy explanation given to her electoral office there were no return calls and no action.

Rosemary Patterson  …………….. 2
Director, Consular Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
She advised Winston Peters against a direct approach to the Turks and he obliged by keeping his mouth shut (on Dylan’s case) when at Gallipoli in 2008. She told me she didn’t want Peters to “use up his brownie points” – a clear message of the value Wellington placed on my infant Kiwi son. At least she had the courage to meet me.

Winston Peters …………………. 0
Minister of Foreign Affairs when Dylan abducted
Privately voiced his support to a friend in Wellington but toed the Foreign Affairs line when advised to do nothing. I was invited to Wellington to meet Peters and New Zealand’s Ambassador to Turkey (at the time) Hamish Cooper. After I had paid for the air tickets and made a hotel reservation I was called by a Foreign Affairs official and “uninvited.”

Helen Clark ……………………. 6
Prime Minister when Dylan abducted
Made an election campaign pledge to directly appeal to the Turkish Prime Minister. This was a bold and encouraging step, the time Wellington had shown any courage. But she lost the election and there was no followup.

Patricia Bailey ………………… 3
Central Authority, Ministry of Justice
Always polite but so, so timid. A pro-active approach would have seen her contact her English-speaking equivalent at the Turkish Central Authority in Ankara instead of just sitting and waiting for letters to be answered. Achieved very little in 2 years. Would have been rated 4 out of 10 but then she refused to have my private appeal translated to better enable Wellington to understand the arguments that might be taken to Turkey’s Supreme Court.

Simon Power …………………. 6
Minister of Justice
New actions lift Simon Power to 6. These moves will be posted as soon as we are able.
Previously, his office had sent a dismissive letter, utterly disinterested in seeking justice in Dylan’s case. By suggesting that any action would be interfering in the judicial process of another country at that time demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction process. This is an international agreement that provides for questions between member states where the process is seen to be slow or unjust. By comparison, see the actions undertaken by the US in support of a citizen abducted to Turkey.

Murray McCully ……………… 3
Minister of Foreign Affairs
McCully was the first politician to answer my wide pleas for help by actually phoning me when he was in Opposition. We later met at his electoral office and he promised to investigate. I would have rated McCully a score of 7 but for zero progress and, even worse, his officials cancelling a confirmed meeting after he became Minister. An email seeking reasons for this cancellation remains unanswered.

John Key ……………………… 0
Prime Minister
His Prime Minister’s department inherited the Helen Clark initiative to the Turkish Prime Minister but nothing has been done to followup that top level request. Hundreds of emails have been sent to John Key by outraged Kiwis with zero response. When his press secretary was asked about this, he declared he had never heard of Dylan’s case.

Hamish Cooper ……………….. 2
Ambassador to Turkey
Some direct approaches made to Turkish officials but the New Zealand Embassy failed miserably during his tenure to match the yardstick the United States demonstrated in successfully retrieving an abducted child from Turkey. Cooper’s staff always polite but very poor at followup and updating.

Anand Satyanand …………….. 0
Governor General of New Zealand
I made a direct appeal to the Governor General for him to raise the matter of Dylan’s abduction while in Turkey for the 2009 Gallipoli ceremony. Three messages left with the Governor General’s secretary Rob Taylor in the weeks before Anzac Day were all ignored – as was an email sent to him when he was en-route to Turkey.

Nikki Kaye ………………….. 6
MP for Auckland Central
Has been by far the hardest-working politician I’ve approached. We have met once and had many phone calls and emails. Kaye’s energy and efforts are a breath of fresh air. It is a shame she doesn’t have more influence in Wellington.


The Minister of Justice, Simon Power, wrote claiming New Zealand could not interfere in the judicial process of another country – a statement that fails to understand that the Hague Convention on Child Abduction is an international agreement that provides for the “Requesting State” (New Zealand) to request reasons for delays (Article 11)

Calls to the Governor General’s secretary & messages left have been ignored. The Governor General is New Zealand representative at Gallipoli next weekend and has an opportunity to informally raise the matter with the Turks.


CONTINUING TO BE STABBED IN THE BACK
- BY NEW ZEALAND"S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
 
"While I was naturally delighted with Helen Clark’s announcement, her letter and statement continued the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs ludicrous claim that they have not frustrated my efforts for the return of Dylan -  and that there is nothing more they can do legally," says Dylan dad, Bruce Laybourn.

"This is simply not true.

"I received last night from my Turkish lawyer, Nedim Yuca, the news that he considers a story that appeared in Turkey’s Sabah newspaper to be very damaging to our efforts as it provides the Turkish PM with an excuse for no action.

"Mr Yuca sets out very clearly that the case is still alive and will not succeed without the support of New Zealand.

"My request to the New Zealand Prime Minister is that the New Zealand Foreign Affairs to be instructed to support a New Zealand citizen – to actively back Nedim Yuca in his efforts to have Dylan returned. After all, Mr Yuca was the lawyer recommended to me by the New Zealand Embassy in Ankara. Why are they now rejecting and defying his pleas?

"I simply cannot believe that Mfat are continuing to sabotage my attempts to have Dylan back in New Zealand.

"I have previously forwarded these facts to them via Alex Ashmore, the barrister appointed by Patricia Bailey at the Central Authority.

"I am also very concerned at a number of errors and allegations that have been attributed to both Mfat and the Central Authority. How they consider it relevant I’m not sure, but it was alleged that I was represented at the custody/divorce hearing in Istanbul on December 28, 2007. That is not true.

"I was also challenged via Murray McCully’s office that I had an opportunity to resolve the matter when I was in Istanbul last July - through a property settlement.

"How did the Central Authority or Mfat acquire this information – and how ethical is it that this information is being used against me?

"The truth is that this was a ransom demand. So desperate was I to have my wee boy home that I agreed to this blackmail but when they changed their demand to an amount to be banked in Turkey, I heeded legal and common sense advice that this would result in a very expensive payment with very little likelihood of the promise to return Dylan being honoured.

"These are examples of the misinformation – seemingly in the cause of butt covering - coming out of Wellington. This, at a time when I would expect a concerted effort to have a New Zealand citizen returned to his homeland. A little New Zealand boy is being sacrificed in the cause of protecting Mfat’s reputation against legimate criticism.

"The team fighting for Dylan have collected a massive file of affidavits, emails, texts, photos and videos. These are being prepared for a release that will shock all parents and horrify Kiwis who, like me, thought New Zealand would fight for one of its citizens." - Bruce Laybourn

Hague application met every criteria

The application for the return of Dylan met every criteria of the Hague Convention – he was born in New Zealand to New Zealand parents, who were married in New Zealand, all living in their family home in Auckland.

The reason for the rejection of the applications were:

FIRST APPLICATION FAILED due to New Zealand Foreign Affairs insistence to the Turks that the case should not be heard while Turkey had not recognised New Zealand’s membership of the convention.

SECOND APPLICATION FAILED on the basis that the mother had a Turkish custody order, an order that was only possible because the New Zealand Family Court refused to hear an application by Dylan’s father for a New Zealand parenting order ex parte.

This is very clear case of justice denied. It is neither the fault of Dylan nor his father that the bureaucratic niceties of the Hague Convention were not completed. It is has been suggested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the oversight was Turkey’s. If that is the case then New Zealand has a duty to point this out and seek a hearing.

It is sad to recall that the Turks had actually started hearing this case nearly 18 months ago but stopped after being contacted by Wellington.

TV3’s 60 Minutes documentary team are preparing a story about Dylan, using dramatic footage shot in Turkey of one man’s lone battle for his son. This footage show a desperate search through winter blizzards in the streets of Istanbul and the actions of (filmed) Turkish secret police as they almost created an international incident at Mr Laybourn’s hotel after he achieved a legal and very expensive one week access to his son.

Dylan is a New Zealand baby boy abducted from New Zealand to Turkey on May 4, 2007 by his mother and grandmother.

Dylan was born in Auckland on January 8, 2007. His parents, Bruce Rennick Laybourn and Gulsen Nil Laybourn are both New Zealand citizens, were married in New Zealand and all three were living at their family home in Newmarket, Auckland at the time of the abduction.

As the criteria were satisfied in every aspect for an application under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, an application was made for Dylan’s return. An application was formally lodged with the Turkish Central Authority of the Hague Convention in Ankara on June 5, 2007.

In an extraordinary denial of justice – and all the intent of the Hague Convention – the application was rejected because although both New Zealand and Turkey were signatories to the convention, Turkey had not recognised New Zealand’s membership.

While Turkish authorities had been prepared to hear the case despite this technicality, advice from New Zealand Foreign Affairs led the Turks to stop the proceedings.

On April 1, 2008, Turkey passed legislation recognising New Zealand as a signatory of the Hague Convention.

A new application for Dylan’s return was made in August, 2008.

This new application was also rejected by Turkey, this time on the basis that a custody order had been made in favour of Dylan’s mother on December 28, 2007.

This decision is in contravention of the Hague Convention, that states:

Article 17
The sole fact that a decision relating to custody has been given in or is entitled to recognition in the requested State shall not be a ground for refusing to return a child under this Convention, but the judicial or administrative authorities of the requested State may take account of the reasons for that decision in applying this Convention.

Whether or not there are legal technicalities that work against the applications for the return to New Zealand of Dylan, the fact remains that a baby New Zealander, the great grandson of a New Zealand Gallipoli soldier, remains trapped in Turkey.

There is clearly a grave breach of the intent of the Hague Convention and of natural justice.

If ever there was a case for a government-to-government humanitarian approach, this is it.

The Turkish prosecutor Dylan’s father, Bruce Rennick Laybourn, met while in Turkey agreed and could not understand the total absence of interest or action by New Zealand authorities. That is notwithstanding that although fully appraised of the situation prior to a Diplomatic trip to Turkey this year, Foreign Minister Winston Peters failed to assist in any way.

Turkey, sadly, has a poor reputation for Hague Convention compliance. This is documented by many Hague Convention experts – and all state that success only comes with very active involvement by the Requesting State.

While in Ankara, Bruce Laybourn was told on more than one occasion that had he been an Australian or American dad he would already have his son back.

Because he is involved in the first child abduction case between New Zealand and Turkey he is paying the terrible price of losing his only son through technicalities and inaction.  Your intervention at the highest possible diplomatic level is the only possible chance for Dylan to be repatriated to his father and the country of his birth.


EVIDENCE THAT ACTION BY THE REQUESTING STATE IS VITAL

Noncompliant Countries: Turkey

Hague applications for the return of abducted children from Turkey continue to experience the same systemic problems that were cited in the last report.  Cases move very slowly through the courts and can take years to resolve.  It appears that few judges or lawyers are familiar with the Convention or understand it well enough to implement it effectively.  For example, Hague cases are often treated as custody cases and home studies are frequently ordered.  Turkish officials have consistently been unable to locate abducted children.  New legislation implementing the Hague Convention has still not been enacted, although the Ministry of Justice is in the process of drafting the legislation.

Developments since the end of this reporting period, however, are encouraging.  Turkey has consolidated abduction cases into new family courts, which are more familiar with all aspects of family law, including the Hague Convention.  This consolidation should help to move cases along through the courts more rapidly.  The Turkish Parliament also passed legislation to criminalize parental child abduction.  Once the new law takes effect in April 2005, Turkish police officials will have more authority to investigate and locate missing children.  Turkish judges and prosecutors throughout the country participated in a series of training sessions on the Hague Abduction Convention sponsored by the European Union in order to gain greater familiarization with the principles and mechanisms of the Convention.

During this reporting period, a child was ordered returned to the United States when an appeal court overturned a lower court decision.  This case had been marked by repeated hearings and delays.  Throughout the entire process, the U.S. Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Mission, and Consular Chief repeatedly pressed for resolution of the case consistent with the Convention during meetings with appropriate senior Turkish officials, including the Ministers and the Under Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, and the Turkish Central Authority.

U.S. Embassy and Department of State officials have worked closely with the Government of Turkey over the past year on matters related to the Hague Convention:  encouraging proper treaty implementation, inquiring into the status of cases, delivering demarches, etc.  It is crucial that the Government of Turkey sustain the momentum needed to fully implement the Hague Convention and carry out its obligations under the Convention.  In particular, we hope to see implementing legislation passed as soon as possible.

Contact Us
Jeremy D. Morley
International Family Law
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jmorley@international-divorce.com
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