Mother of abandoned French children to remain in Portugal despite agreeing to extradition

The French mother accused of abandoning her two young children near Alcácer do Sal will remain in custody in Portugal despite agreeing to be extradited to France, the Évora Court of Appeal has ruled.

The 41-year-old woman appeared before the court on Tuesday in connection with a European Arrest Warrant issued by French authorities.

According to Portugal’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, Marine Rousseau consented to being surrendered to France but did not waive the principle of speciality, which limits prosecution to the offences specified in the warrant.

However, the court partially refused to execute the warrant in relation to offences allegedly committed in Portugal, where a separate criminal investigation remains underway.

As a result, the court approved her eventual extradition but postponed the transfer until proceedings being conducted by the Setúbal Public Prosecutor’s Office have been concluded.

Judicial sources told Lusa that the woman will remain detained in Portugal while the investigation continues. If the case is dropped, she could then be transferred to France. If Portuguese prosecutors bring charges, the extradition will remain suspended until the conclusion of legal proceedings and any sentence imposed.

In other words, she is being given the same treatment as her partner, Marc Ballabriga.

The woman is wanted in France in connection with five alleged offences, including child abduction, abandonment of a minor, abandonment of a vulnerable person and offences related to parental responsibilities.

The case stems from an incident on May 19, when two French siblings, aged four and five, were found wandering alone near the EN253 road between Comporta and Alcácer do Sal.

According to reports at the time, the children told authorities that their mother had blindfolded them and told them they were playing a game before allegedly abandoning them and driving away with her partner.

The woman and her 55-year-old French companion were arrested by the GNR two days later at a café near Fátima.

Both were subsequently placed in preventive detention by the Setúbal court and are under investigation in Portugal on suspicion of aggravated assault and child abandonment.

The two children returned to their hometown of Colmar in eastern France on May 29.

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.