Support Adrienn and Armi's Legal Battle

Our story started in 2019, when I found a job in New York and met Armi's father Ajit. Armi was born in 2021. A year later, I decided to move to Hungary after Ajit became completely insane while intoxicated and I felt my child's safety was at risk.

He was caught several times for driving under the influence, had a psychological evaluation for substance use disorder and lost his job for several months. He is currently under investigation by the American Medical Association.

In a moment of sanity, I convinced Ajit to buy a one-way ticket for me and Armi, take us to the airport and part ways peacefully. He agreed that this was the right thing to do, and I promised him that I would not cut him off from our son, that he could visit him in Hungary at any time.

When I boarded the plane, he seemed to understand and accept the situation, but later he started threatening me and refused to agree to a peaceful settlement. He filed a complaint at the US court that I had unlawfully removed our child even though he had visited me twice in Hungary, and he had given his written consent for us to live here (he signed Armi's application for Hungarian permanent residence and gave his consent in personal written messages).

Unfortunately, the child protection system, which should be helping us, seems to be failing us and turning against us. I'm trying to find my way through the often surreal maze of the American and Hungarian legal systems, while doing everything I can to protect Armi.

The first hearings were held far away from us, in the United States. Ajit had the contacts, money and time to prepare, but I was notified of the situation 4 days before the first hearing by a WhatsApp message while on holiday with Ajit's parents on a boat. I didn't want the grandparents to be left out of my son's life because of the bad situation. I tried to find an American lawyer in the middle of the holiday, but it was impossible in 4 days whilst being abroad.

I attended the first hearing (online) without any help. The lawyers didn't even listen to my arguments, in 2x30 minutes they ruled that I have to take my son back to the US.

At the second hearing, I was accompanied by a lawyer - whose fees had eaten up all my savings - but he was unable to represent me and did not even file my appeal.

The American legal system is automatic and quick. To them, I was just an Eastern European mother who had taken a partially American citizen out of the country. They were not interested in the circumstances, the father's alcoholism, the signed document, the visits and the many circumstances that clearly showed that when we moved, Ajit, the father gave his consent. They didn't care who would take care of my son, they didn't care who would protect him, even though it was his father who was a threat to him.

As a mother, I could not agree to what they asked.

Two days later the father was automatically awarded FULL custody, I was not even granted contact rights. If I’ve sent my son to New York then or now, I may never see him again. I am not allowed entry, I do not even have the right to request a meeting with my son.

I am sure that Ajit, if given the opportunity, will turn his threats into reality and I will never see my child again - "I will make sure you will never see him. He won't even know who his mother is". 

What mother would give up their child?

What mother would leave their 2 year old son at an airport like a piece of luggage?

In Hungary, I have turned to every possible place for help, yet I cannot find a solution. Even the Hungarian court did not investigate the reasons and circumstances, they just automatically followed the decision of the American court.

The first trial in Hungary was shocking, also because of the events that took place in the previous days. Ajit, as soon as he arrived in Hungary, came to our house drunk, climbed in through the fence, came through the front door and then started threatening us. I recorded all this on video. I called the police, he was taken away in handcuffs because he resisted. The next morning, he arrived at the hearing still drunk, more than half an hour late, with a bruised face. When my lawyer pointed this out and asked for Ajit to be BAC (blood alcohol concentration)  tested, the judge said 'All right, counsel' and waved him off with a gesture of dismissal.

We asked the Hungarian court to have a forensic expert examine the father's suitability, and they refused our request.

I asked for an extension.

I asked for protection.

I asked for intercession.

I was left alone.

We need our voices to be heard by anyone who can help.

Please share our story. Maybe then it will reach someone who is able and can help us.

Armi is still too young to understand what is happening around him, but as a mother, I will do everything I can to keep him safe and I hope one day I will be proud to tell him how many people stood by us when we needed them most.

Now my aim is so that Armi can stay with me in the safe and familiar surroundings he knows until the case is resolved, as at the moment, the bailiffs could come at any time and take him away from me, due to the final judgement, to be placed in foster care, from where his father, whom he barely knows (as he last saw him in April 2023), will take him back to America at some point.

My son does not speak English, so neither his father nor the American public can reassure him at a time when he is experiencing the greatest trauma of his life, that of being separated from me, his mother.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Each share, each word that brings attention to our plight, brings us closer to doing justice for Armi.

Thank you,

Adrienn