On Tuesday, the police found a French father and his one-year-old child. The child and father left the mother on May 29. The child's mother, Melissa Rondon, does not know where her daughter Galiana is. The police will not tell the mother the child's location because the father does not want it disclosed.
Melissa Rondon says the police are not informing her of her daughter's whereabouts. The police say the father has the right not to disclose his location. He also has the right to be with the child because he has equal custody rights. Therefore, the police will not reveal the child's location, as this would also reveal the father's whereabouts.
Rondon says that on May 29, the father took her daughter away without her permission. The mother had not seen the child for six months. The police found the child and father five days later.
The police told Rondon that the child is with the other parent and is safe. But they did not say where the child is. The police justified this by saying the father has equal rights and does not want the mother to know the child's location.
Rondon asked: "Where are my rights? The father has rights, but my rights are being violated. The father has no court decision or custody rights. Why is the police helping him? I just want to know where my daughter is."
Rondon has evidence that the father's health may be dangerous to the child. Rondon and the father are French citizens. They do not live in Estonia, but the daughter was born here.
The police did not intervene further in the matter. They said the child is safe and with the other parent. The police gave the mother instructions on what to do.
If Rondon wants to see her daughter, she must go to court in France. That is where the child resides. Alternatively, the father can disclose the child's location himself.
Lawyer Tambet Laasik says the police should not prevent the mother from knowing the child's location. He says this is the police's own interpretation of the law. He adds that in Estonia, it is easy to take a child away from the other parent.
Laasik says the police should inform the mother of the child's location if it is not dangerous for the child. But currently, the police are not doing this.
The police were searching for Benoit Olivier and his daughter Galiana. They disappeared on May 29. The police found them on June 2.