A Monaghan mother who alleges her Egyptian husband abducted their two children in 2022, has been called to Cairo to tell her side of the story by a public prosecutor. Mandy Kelly has been tirelessly working with an Irish legal team, the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs, Egyptian authorities, diplomats and even Muslim clerics to retrieve her children after their father took them while on holiday in Egypt over two years ago.
Mandy told Northern Sound that while progress has been made on her case in both Ireland and her estranged husband's homeland, the legal and political system has been slow while she is living a "nightmare". She has not seen her Irish-born sons, three-year-old Kareem and five-year-old Zayn Mohammed since March 11th 2022. A court date for September in Egypt has been arranged for Mandy to have her abduction case heard. In preparation for that hearing, an Egyptian public prosecutor has asked Mandy to travel to Cairo as he investigates her claims that her husband, Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed, abducted the couple’s two children.
Mandy says she has no choice but to attend the prosecutor's office and has been forced to start a GoFundMe page to help her raise enough money for the trip: "My children and I did nothing wrong, we did absolutely nothing wrong but, unfortunately, I was just completely and utterly manipulated," Mandy told the Wider View programme, "I was manipulated emotionally, physically and financially. As I said, I am incredibly appreciative of people's support. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I have ongoing legal and travel expenses I've had to make a very difficult decision and set up my own GoFundMe page, which, can be accessed through my social media account."
