Man Guilty Of International Parental Abduction

A man who abducted his three young children and took them to Egypt became the first person convicted of international parental kidnapping under a 1993 U.S. law.

The children, however, remain in Egypt with their father’s family because the country isn’t a party to international law that requires the return of youngsters taken unlawfully to foreign countries, U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter said.

A jury convicted Ahmed Amer on Thursday. He faces a maximum three years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Dec. 15.

Prosecutors said during his trial that he had asked his wife to move the family back to Egypt but she refused. On Jan. 27, he abducted their children, ages 10, 5 and 3, while his wife, Mona, was out shopping.

Amer, 39, is a dual citizen of Egypt and the United States. He returned to the United States in June and was arrested.