International Child Abduction

Over the past three years Thorne has worked closely with Mr. Patrick Braden, father of Melissa Braden, a U.S. citizen-child abducted to Japan on 16 March 2006 by her mother, Ryoko Uchiyama.  As a result, Thorne has become thoroughly familiar with the facts of the Melissa Braden case and the growing problem of international child abduction.  During 2009, the issue of international child abduction has drawn sharply increased attention from the U.S. Congress.

In 2009 Patrick Braden served as founder of “Global Future: The Parents’ Council on International Children’s Policy”. The group is comprised of parents across America whose children were criminally kidnapped from U.S. soil and taken to Japan in violation of previously established U.S. court custody orders, travel ban orders, and passport surrender orders. 

Although these children remain under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and in the legal custody of their left-behind parent in the U.S., neither the court nor the left-behind parent in the U.S. has any access to the child(ren) living in Japan with the kidnapper parent.  On 2 December 2009 Thorne attended the first-ever hearing on international child abduction before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. 

Patrick Braden was one of four left-behind parents of abducted children who presented testimony and written documentation to the Commission.  Thorne’s written statement was included in Patrick Braden’s submission for the record of the Hearing on International Child Abduction on 2 December 2009.  A copy of Thorne’s submission for the Hearing record is available upon request.