DUBAI // The American toddler at the centre of an international custody case has been returned to her mother after a Dubai court honoured a foreign custody order.
Caroline Peters, 21 months, had been ruled missing in May by a US judge, although she had never left her home in Dubai.
Her mother, Stacy Peters, left the girl in March after her husband pressed charges against her for adultery and drug abuse.
Although Mrs Peters had been awarded custody of Caroline in Tennessee, the UAE did not initially enforce the foreign order.
Mrs Peters returned to Dubai in September, where she gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Lily, and worked with the local court system to have Caroline returned.
"Finally, after seven months I have my little girl back," she said. "I'm ecstatic that hopefully this will all be over soon, and I will be back in the US with my daughter."
Caroline's father, Charles Peters, is an instructor for the UAE Armed Forces and had been working for custody of the child in Dubai courts.
But when the Dubai Family Law Court gave custody to Mrs Peters last week, based on the US judgment, he initially refused to hand over the toddler.
Mr Peters was arrested and held for several days, but said he and Mrs Peters would return to the US together to come to a custody agreement.
"Three days away from your daughter makes you see things differently," Mr Peters said. "I don't want to fight with Stacy any more. I just want for us to figure things out."
International child custody cases are particularly convoluted in the UAE, because the country is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which outlines the procedures for returning a child across borders.
Diana Hamade, a lawyer in Dubai and founder of International Advocate Legal Services, said the UAE was not a signatory as foreign orders might conflict with Sharia rulings.
"It is not so unusual for the courts here to recognise a foreign order if it is in line with local law and the best interests of the child," she said.
jthomas@thenational.ae
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
