International Child Custody

I write on behalf of the mother of a child born in Indonesia to an Austrailian father and Indonesian mother in the year June 2001. The child has Australian nationality but lived with both parents in Indonesia until Dec 2001 at which time he was removed by the father with no consent from the mother. The father has apparently gained a sole custody order from an Australian court (I believe fraudulently as he informed the court that he was unable to contact the mother which is untrue). The father then moved to Thailand and was subsequently deported from Thailand. He was returned to Australia with the child but then sent the child back to Thailand to live with a girlfriend in 2003. The mother has tried repeatedly over the last five years to make contact with the child but has been thwarted at every step by the father and his family. She received information as to the child\'s whereabouts and is currently in Thailand and has made contact with the child and the girlfriend of the father. She has been told by local tourist police (the only police who speak english) that she may not remove the child from Thailand as the girlfriend has a power of attorney document giving her sole custody of the child. What are the rights of the mother and what is the best way to proceed?

[able1]

I would suggest you firstly find out what court was involved and how they ruled and why.

If the court was told untrue statements the orders can be reversed, or the father may even be punished.

You need to know what order is governing now, to start.