THE mother of a seven-year-old boy 'abducted' by his Warrington dad has won a legal battle in her desperate attempts to get him home.

Ibrahim Faraj, aged 7, has been missing since November 2022 after his father took him to Saudi Arabia against the wishes of his mother Ranem - in breach of a court order.

Known as Ibra, his father, Hamzah Faraj, is currently on the run from police after abducting his son last year. He has ignored several attempts by the court to get in contact.

Ibra’s identity was previously unable to be named due to ongoing legal proceedings. Since then, a publicity order has been obtained at the High Court in London with the purpose of locating him and confirming his safety.

Ibra went to St Elphin’s CofE Primary School up until June of last year, at which point his mother moved him to a school in Frodsham where she now lives, as Hamzah had cut contact.

Following an ongoing custody battle, Hamzah used his week of custody to take Ibrahim to his native Saudi Arabia without consent of the courts or Ibrahim’s mother Ranem.

After being given an order in the family court preventing him from taking Ibrahim abroad, Hamzah left the country for Jeddah nine days later.

At the time, Hamzah was a resident of Warrington.

Ranem is from Palestine, whilst Hamzah is from Saudi Arabia. The two married in Saudi Arabia when Hamzah was 24 and Ranem was 16.

Their marriage broke down when they moved to the UK in 2014, before falling apart completely in 2022.

Ibra was born in 2016 and raised in the UK.

Ranem has tried for months to find out that Ibra is okay or speak to him. Hamzah and his family, however, have ignored all attempts to initiate contact after early brief conversations to confirm Ibra’s whereabouts, and have blocked her number.

Due to the fact Saudi Arabia does not have any extradition treaty with the UK, police are not able to arrest Hamzah.

Ranem has started a campaign called #BringIbraHome, asking for support for herself, but also to change the law in order to protect families from child abductions similar to this case. 

A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: 

"On Monday 14 November 2022, police received reports that a child had been taken out of the country by their father without permission from their mother.

"It was reported that seven-year-old Ibrahim Faraj had been taken to Saudi Arabia by his father, which was in breach of the custody order which was made at Liverpool Family Court on 3 November 2022.

"Following the reports officers have been engaging closely with both parents, but despite their best efforts he has not yet been returned to the UK.

"Therefore, the father of the child has now been circulated as wanted for child abduction on the national police database.

"All the appropriate authorities have been made aware and officers are continuing to do all they can to return the child to the UK."

Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North, said: “This is a very sad and difficult situation.

"I am making representations to the Foreign Office to do all they can, although I recognise that we do not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia.

"I hope that this can be resolved as quickly as possible to bring Ibrahim back to his mum.”