His Majesty King Abdullah ll ibn Al Hussein,
My name is Irina Vencu, a Romanian citizen and Swiss resident and I am humbly asking for your help in a very important and sensitive matter, the kidnaping of my three year old son, Iosif Hector Buqaei by my husband, Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei, the nephew of Mr. Abdul Rahim Biqaii, distinct member of the Parliament House of Representatives and head of the Financial Commission.
Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei and I got married in 2008 in Romania, after a romantic relationship that had begun in 2002. Our wedding was a civil union and we have never had a religious union, neither in Romania nor in Jordan, because Mr. Buqaei is a follower of Islam, while myself, I am a Christian Orthodox. We have never looked at this as a problem in the way of us being a happy family. After a short stay of myself and Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei at my parents‘ house in Bucharest, Romania, we both agreed to move our newly-founded family in Switzerland, a place where we could develop our carriers and where our mixed family would be more than welcome. I am an architect and my husband is a software engineer. In the year 2012, we had a boy, Iosif Hector Buqaei, born in Switzerland, who has Jordanian and Romanian citizenship, as well as Swiss residency.
After the birth of Iosif, our boy, the problems between my husband and I became more and more serious and, with time, our marriage fell apart. As a result, in June 2015, I have started the separation and custody procedures through the Swiss legal system, which is a very fair one, the norm being a split custody between the two parents and this way having both of them involved in the upbringing of the child and in any important decisions regarding him. Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei had been informed that there would be a court hearing on 3rd of September 2015 and that until then none of us is allowed to change the place where the child is going to live. More so, in July 2015, my husband asked me if he could go together with Iosif to visit his parents in Amman and I agreed. Upon their return from Amman, my husband refused to give me back our boy’s passport and residency permit, despite the fact that Iosif was living with me. From this moment on, I started being very worried about my husband‘s intentions, especially because he was becoming more and more aggressive both verbally and physically. However, I still considered him a decent and law-abiding person, therefore when on 22nd of August 2015 he asked me to let him take our son for a day trip to the Zurich Zoo, I agreed. Using this as a cover for his real intentions, Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei took Iosif out of Switzerland and to his parents‘ house in Amman, where my son is still to date, separated abruptly and for so long from his mother.
The Swiss law ruled his actions as kidnaping and started a string of legal measures against my husband. From August 2015 until now, Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei refused to present himself at any court hearing in Zurich and told me on more than one occasion that I am never to see my son again. As a result, I had no other option but to open a legal action in Romania as well and keep going further with the one in Switzerland. I have informed of what has happened the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Romanian Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Prime Minister office and now I am waiting for their actions. I have also been in contact with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan‘s Embassies in Bern and Bucharest, unfortunately I have been told that there wasn‘t much they could do about this situation even if they consider what is going on as inhumane. I have also written to different authorities and private individuals in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and made them aware of the deeds of my husband. I have appealed to the good judgment of my husband’s uncle, Mr. Abdul Rahim Biqaii, and that of his elder brother, Mr. Omar Buqaei, numerous times, however beside hollow words, all I got was the same as what I was getting from my husband – the threat that I will never see my son again – and that in order to have even the smallest chance of seeing my boy, I should keep quiet, not tell anybody about what happened and stop any legal actions in whatever country it might be.
All I am asking Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei and his family is to share the time of our son, Iosif, between his two parents, and all I get is more or less obvious threats and refusals.
I have a long line of letters and court orders which prove that what I am saying is the truth, so if Your Majesty will look upon my problems, I can provide any of them in English, German or the authorised translations in Arabic. I will be more than happy to go into detail about any aspect or situation that occurred between myself and Mr. Hamzeh Buqaei at any given time.
Please Your Majesty be generous and help me be part of my son’s life and make my son proud of his dual heritage, Jordanian and Romanian.
I have the honour to remain,
Mrs. Irina Vencu, Your Majesty’s humble and obedient servant
