Kidnapped son rescued by mum disguised in a burqa in Egypt

AN AMERICAN mother has told how she flew to Egypt and dressed in a burqa to rescue her son who had been kidnapped by his Muslim father.

Burqa

AN AMERICAN mother has told how she flew to Egypt and dressed in a burqa to rescue her son who had been kidnapped by his Muslim father.

Kalli Atteya disguised herself in the traditional clothing and waited until 12-year-old Niko got off his school bus in the city of Alexandria, the Daily Mail reports

The boy recognised his mother by her blue eyes which peered out of a slit in the burqa.

The pair fled to a safe house where they waited three weeks before returning to the US because they were so frightened the boy's father Mohamed Atteya, who is wanted by the American authorities, would find them.

The rescue brought to an end Niko's 20-month ordeal during which time he said his father ''forced me to be a Muslim, which I did not want to do.''

Miss Atteya added: ''My son told me the kidnapping was to make him a Muslim. (Mohamed) said we lack the morality and the values that their system has. And he said Americans were so violent, he said we are a rotting society.''

She married Atteya in 1999 and they settled in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

They divorced in 2005 because she claims he was cheating on her.

But her crucial error came in 2011 when she agreed to meet him in Egypt because his mother was dying.

While they were driving with her son and Miss Atteya's sister, he claimed to have car trouble, forced the women out of the car and then sped off, leaving them in a deserted road outside of Cairo.

Miss Atteya, 45, hired a Norwegian company to track him down, adding: ''I followed him. I came really close to him several times.''

In total the rescue cost her £62,000 and countless hours, false leads and several trips to Egypt.

She finally made her move after being tipped off by a local.

Atteya, 38, who speaks Arabic, English and Chinese, is wanted in the US for using forged documents to obtain a passport.

Lawyer Jeffrey Evans said of Miss Atteya: ''She showed a tenacity that not many would have.''

For more see the Daily Mail