A high court ruling, heard by Mrs Justice Lieven DBE, has sentenced a father to six months in prison for repeated breaches of court orders relating to the abduction and continued retention of his daughter in Iran.
The case, AA (Mother) v XX (Father) [2025] EWHC 2165 (Fam) began with the father, XX, an Iranian national, entering the United Kingdom illegally in 2020 and subsequently claiming asylum. His asylum application was granted in June 2022, giving him limited leave to remain until June 2027. In December 2023, the mother, AA, and their daughter B, then aged nine, lawfully entered the UK under family reunion provisions.
In January 2024, the mother and B travelled to Iran for a holiday. Upon arrival at Tehran airport, B was abducted by her paternal uncle, H, who allegedly threatened the mother with a firearm. This was the last time the mother saw her daughter, returning to the UK immediately to begin legal proceedings to secure B’s return.
In June 2024, the mother filed an application for wardship and for B’s return to England. In July 2024, Victoria Butler-Cole KC made B a ward of court and ordered contact. In October 2024, Deputy High Court Judge Naomi Davey confirmed the wardship and issued a return order requiring the father to return B by 8 November 2024.
When B was not returned, the case came before Mr Justice Trowell in November 2024, who continued the wardship and issued another return order. In December 2024, Trowell J reiterated the return order and gave directions for a potential committal application, advising the father of his legal rights and encouraging him to seek representation.
After a committal application in January 2025 was adjourned due to late service of translated documents Trowell J issued a detailed contact order in April, followed by a hearing in June where he considered expert evidence from Andrew Allen KC on Iranian law. The father told the court he could return B under certain conditions, but failed to act.
In July Deputy High Court Judge Nicholas Allen KC issued directions for a renewed committal application, but despite being served with all relevant documents in English and Farsi, and being present at court in August 2025 the father refused to enter the courtroom unless his demands were met. Mrs Justice Lieven found the father in contempt of court for nine breaches of various orders including
- Failing to return B to England and Wales.
- Refusing to renew B’s passport or delegate authority to do so.
- Ignoring orders for indirect contact via WhatsApp.
- Disregarding procedural safeguards and refusing to attend court properly.
In a landmark ruling, she sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment, stating that only a custodial sentence could mark the court’s disapproval and potentially secure B’s return.
Mrs Justice Lieven condemned the father’s conduct as “deliberate and persistent,” describing the situation as “an act of extreme cruelty to B and to the mother.” She noted that the father had shown “contempt for the court and its processes,” and had repeatedly disrupted hearings, refusing to enter the courtroom unless his demands were met.
In her final comments the judge added the father could apply back to the court to purge his contempt should he comply with the return of B.
