Agence France Presse
September 8, 2018 Saturday 5:47 PM GMT
'Missing' Armenian children found after Dutch deportation drama
The Hague, Sept 8 2018
Two Armenian children who disappeared to avoid deportation have been
found, police in the Netherlands said Saturday, shortly after the
justice ministry announced they would be allowed to stay, the latest
twist in a drama that has gripped the country.
Howick, 13 and his sister Lili, 12, who had gone into hiding several
times before to avoid the authorities, were due to be deported to join
their mother in Armenia, after a last-ditch legal bid failed to stop
their expulsion.
They were found "in good health", police in the southeastern city of
Wijchen said in a statement, a day after they were last seen at their
grandparents' home there.
News that they had been found came shortly after the justice ministry
said in a statement to AFP that Migration Minister Mark Harbers "after
careful consideration decided that the children can remain in the
country".
The saga has been headline news in the Netherlands, with Prime
Minister Mark Rutte and Dutch royal Princess Laurentien weighing in,
while the youngsters have appeared on national television to plead
their case.
Howick and Lili last went missing a week ago, after the Hague-based
Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, ruled
there was no reason why the two teens should not be sent back to
Armenia.
The children have been living with foster parents since their mother,
Armina Hambartsjumian, was sent back to Yerevan last year after her
asylum request was finally denied.
Just before leaving the country the 37-year-old briefly hid the
children, refusing to tell immigration officials where they were.
Hambartsjumian was deported without them and has since told Dutch
supporters she is unable to look after her children in Armenia. By the
time Howick and Lili eventually emerged that time, their case was
before the courts.
On Friday, the children's lawyer had launched a last bid at the
Amsterdam court to halt their expulsion, arguing that their mother was
not able to look after them.
But the judge ruled that there was no viable reason to stop the deportation.