Until the end, Rabah Bouaiche, 49 years old, resident of L’île-Saint-Denis (93) feared the worst. This Thursday, May 2, around 8 a.m. after being separated from his daughter Mélissa for more than nine months, kidnapped by her mother and left in Thailand last July (see our editions), he landed with his “little princess” on the ground French.
“In Bangkok, at the airport, before boarding, I was questioned for around twenty minutes,” says Rabah. The Thai border police did not understand that Mélissa, Franco-Thai, who arrived in Thailand in July 2023 with her French passport could have stayed so long in the territory.
“I took out all the documents, proof that I was indeed the father, Mélissa’s birth certificate with my name on it. They also asked me where his mother was. I explained that she was in France without going into too much detail. And after checking, they let us go”says the happy dad.
Rabah Bouaiche did not say, for example, that the child’s mother had been taken into custody at the Saint-Denis police station at the beginning of March for child abduction. Since then, she has been subject to strict judicial control. Passport confiscated, she is prohibited from leaving French territory.
Rabah’s ordeal begins in July 2023 when the mother takes their daughter on vacation to Thailand with her family. On a whim, she decides to come back alone, leaving the dad with a fait accompli.
For more than nine months, Rabah Bouaiche continued to fight, obtaining a first victory on January 18 when the Bobigny family affairs judge granted him sole custody as well as the establishment of his daughter’s residence at his home. .
This Thursday, May 2, he had to wait a little at French customs. His daughter Mélissa being present in the wanted persons file, the police needed to clarify the situation. Then the customs officer, all smiles, wished them Welcome to France.
Mélissa found the family apartment on Saint-Denis Island and her cat Neij. Seeing him, she smiled. She picked him up and found that her kitten had grown…
> The whole Rabah Bouaiche affair:
Thailand: Rabah recovers her daughter kidnapped by her mother
Île-Saint-Denis. Rabah’s fight to get back her daughter kidnapped by her mother in Thailand
