The High Court has ordered Japanese citizen Nakano Eriko and Bangladeshi-American Sharif Imran, fighting for custody of their two children, to spend a fortnight with them in a Gulshan apartment.
During the stay, the court ordered the Deputy Director of the Department of Social Services to ensure a good environment for them and Dhaka Metropolitan Police to ensure their safety.
Bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order considering the wellbeing of the children after a hearing on the matter.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the mother’s side at the court and Advocate Fawzia Karim presented the father’s side.
At one point the court heard the children’s opinion in a special chamber separately on which parent they wanted to stay with. That seemed to have been inconclusive.
On August 23, the High Court had asked the authorities concerned to keep the two children of Eriko and Imran at the Tejgaon victim support centre in a good environment until August 31 amid a legal battle over their custody.
The court also granted permission to the parents of the children to meet them at the Tejgaon victim support centre in a stipulated time.
At one point the counsels of both parents informed the court about the two children's discomfort in staying at the victim support center.
The court then asked both parents to come to an agreement on where the children would stay in a familial environment before passing a final decision on the matter today.
On August 19, Nakano Eriko filed a petition with the High Court seeking its directives to return her two daughters-- Jasmine Malika, 11, and Laila Lina, 10---from their Bangladeshi father Sharif Imran.
The court than asked the authorities concerned to produce the two children with their father and aunt before the court on August 31. It also asked Imran not to leave the country with his daughters for next one month.
On Sunday, a team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) police took the two children under custody.
On Monday, Advocate Fawzia Karim, counsel of Imran drew the attention of the court about the custody.
Advocate Monir said “Eriko, a 46-year-old woman and a physician by profession, filed a petition seeking custody of her two children. Eriko and Imran tied the knot on July 11, 2008, according to the law of Japan. They used to live in Tokyo and the couple has been blessed with three daughters.”
“The three daughters of the couple aged 11, 10, and seven are studying at a school in Tokyo. In January, Imran appealed for the divorce and on January 21 he filed an appeal to the school authorities to take his one daughter but they refused following the objection of Eriko,” said Monir.
Later, Imran picked up two of his two daughters from school and went to a rented building before returning to Bangladesh with them.
In May, a court in Tokyo handed custody of the two daughters to Eriko.
Eriko came to Bangladesh in July to spend time with them, and then filed a writ to get her daughters back.