An American father who traveled to Mexico for vacation almost three years ago had his two sons kidnapped and was falsely imprisoned. Since then he has been fighting in an effort to get them back. After years of dealing with Mexico’s corrupt judicial system in the lower courts, the case is headed to Mexico’s Supreme Court where, if international laws are upheld, the children should be returned to the United States.
The nightmare began on January 2013, when Eric Haan took his two children along with his then wife (identified only as Erica) from their home in Michigan to visit his in-laws in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. During their vacation there, his wife along with her parents, ended up kidnapping the children and accusing Haan of being an abusive husband.
Breitbart Texas was granted access to the criminal complaint that shows a series of contradictory statements by Haan’s wife where she tries to paint him in a negative light, but the complaint does not list any cases of abuse that would be classified as such in a Mexican court. Using Mexico’s corrupt legal system, the family was able to press charges on Haan in order to keep him from the children.
Breitbart Texas has investigated Erica’s relatives who are part of a wealthy family family of developers from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and have been linked to some financial scandals. At the request of Haan’s attorney’s, out of fear of reprisals or further legal attacks Breitbart Texas is not identifying Erica by her last name nor identifying her relatives.
Breitbart Texas spoke with Carlos Alvarado, the attorney who is representing Haan as he navigates Mexico’s infamous judicial system. Haan’s case would fall under an international treaty set forth by the Hague Convention which would call for an expedited resolution to parental kidnapping cases, however, in this case the lower courts in Mexico have prolonged the case for almost three years.
Alvarado also pointed out many of the irregularities in the case such as how the local family court judge in Playa del Carmen used the accusation that had been filed against Haan in order to rule in Erica’s favor. In her ruling, the judge referred to Haan as a convicted criminal, however the American citizen has not been convicted of the allegations filed against him.
Haan sued in Mexico’s federal court to have the judge’s decision overturned. While Haan lost that lawsuit in March, his attorneys immediately filed for an appeal. The appellate court referred the case to Mexico’s Supreme Court which is set to review the case in the coming days.
In preparation for his hearing, Haan even started a petition on the website Change.org where he asks Jorge Mario Pardo Rebollo, one of the Mexico’s Supreme Court Justices who will oversee his case, to return the children to the United States.
As Haan’s ordeal continues to unravel, the American father has become an international voice for the crime of international child abductions. In an effort to bring a voice to the victims of the crime, Haan created a website http://www.endabductionsnow.org where he shares the details of his story. A crime that as seen by this case it is a lengthy and costly nightmare for the victims where many times consular offices and embassies can be of little help.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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