A French woman and her children who were held captive by her husband for 12 years in Pakistan have been rescued
A French woman and her five children have been rescued in Pakistan after police said they had been detained and abused by the family’s father, a Pakistani national, for more than a decade.The rescue operation took place in Bara, a remote town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwestern Pakistan, after one of the couple’s sons managed to escape from the family home and notify the authorities.Police raided the property and arrested the woman’s husband, who was accused of detaining his wife and children and subjecting them to years of physical and mental abuse.According to local police, officers found 54-year-old French citizen Sylvie Yasmina and her children living in a narrow and “extremely dilapidated” room.
The family members had bruises on their bodies when they were discovered.Yasmina claimed that her husband had effectively “prisoned” the family since moving to Pakistan from Australia in 2014.Police told the BBC that Yasmina described her husband as “extremely violent” and claimed that he physically and mentally assaulted family members “on a daily basis.”The woman and her children have since been transferred to a women’s shelter in the city of Peshawar.
Police say they are now planning to return to France. Yasmina said that she had been isolated from the outside world for years and was not allowed to interact with others.A senior police officer told the BBC: “According to the woman… she was not allowed to meet anyone. Their two eldest children missed their studies, while the three younger children were born in Pakistan and never attended school.”Authorities have not publicly identified the husband, who is a Pakistani citizen.
Police said he was “illegally residing” in Australia when he met Yasmina.The couple married in 2003 and lived in Australia for more than a decade before moving to Pakistan with their two eldest children in 2014.In a statement to police, Yasmina described years of alleged abuse and control.“We were deprived [of our] Freedom, my husband did not take care of us properly as a husband and father to my children.
“It hits us and puts pressure on our lives on a daily basis,” Yasmina wrote.She also expressed her fears about the impact on her children after years of isolation.“I felt like my future was already ruined, and the children’s future would be ruined as well.”Police are continuing their investigation into these allegations while arrangements are made for Yasmina and her children to leave Pakistan and return to France.
