The Libyan journalist Inas Ahmeeda brought a distressing and controversial case to light through Almanassa, detailing the plight of a Libyan mother residing in Italy whose custody of her children was withdrawn by state authorities. This decision was reportedly based on the justification of “cultural and religious difference” between the mother and Italian society, a move the author decried as a stark violation of fundamental human rights and an assault on Libyan identity.
Ahmeeda noted that the mother has been engaged in a fierce legal battle for over a year to recover her children, who are under the age of eighteen. This struggle unfolds against a difficult family background, as the children’s father is suffering from partial paralysis following a stroke. The Italian authorities’ decision relied on social reports that the journalist contested as inaccurate, which allegedly claimed the mother exhibited “religious extremism” and a “highly conservative parenting style.”
This incident highlights the potential for the politicised exploitation of Article 403 of the Italian Civil Code. This law grants authorities the right to remove children if there is a “risk to their moral upbringing.” The article explicitly allows public authorities, via the police or social services, to intervene immediately and transfer a minor to a safe place if they are found to be in grave physical or moral danger due to neglect or mistreatment, or in the absence of adequate care.
Several international human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and ADF International, have previously raised concerns that this article is being used as a tool against migrant families, specifically those of Muslim faith. Ahmeeda considered the Italian measure a clear breach of Articles 8, 9, and 30 of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of Children, which stresses the child’s right to preserve their identity and prohibits separation from their parents except in cases of extreme necessity.
Finally, the writer issued an urgent plea to the Libyan government to intervene swiftly to halt the ongoing process of adopting the children by an Italian family. She specifically called upon the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, along with the Ministers of Social Affairs, Wafaa Al-Kilani, and Women’s Affairs, Hourya Al-Tarmal, and Libya’s Ambassador in Rome, Mohannad Younes, to take immediate action. Ahmeeda asserted that the Libyan mother should not be penalised, nor her children removed, simply because she adheres to her religion or national identity.