Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

A magistrate yesterday had harsh words for Appoġġ over its handling of the German children who were secretly flown out of Malta two weeks ago, saying the agency had shown it was “less able” to take care of the children than the mothers themselves.

Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri made the statement in a Gozo court when revoking a temporary order that had been placed on a third German child who is still in Malta, ordering Appoġġ to return her to her mother.

The request for a decree was filed by German mothers Sabrina Albrecht and Jutta Wiedekind, asking for their children to be returned to them.

Subsequently, Ms Albrecht’s two children, Jeremias and Jayden, were secretly flown out of Malta by German social workers who pretended to be taking them to the beach.

However, Ms Wiedekind’s nine-year-old daughter, Julia, is still on the island under the care of Appoġġ.

The three children had come under the agency’s care following an “emergency temporary order” issued by a court soon after four-year-old Jeremias wandered off into a field in Marsalforn on his own, sparking a police investigation.

In her strongly-worded three-page decree, Magistrate Vella Cuschieri lashed out at Appoġġ for having “so liberally and without any supervision” allowed the children to stay with third parties, which resulted in the children being taken out of Malta without the knowledge of the authorities.

“This court can only imagine how the mothers of these children feel after their children were so abruptly taken away from them with the reason given being that they were not able to take care of the children. Aġenzija Appoġġ has shown to this court that it was less able to take care of the children than the mothers themselves,” the magistrate said.

She also “deplored” the State agency for taking “no action” to ensure that the “appropriate procedures according to law were undertaken to safeguard the children”.

Magistrate Vella Cuschieri went one step further, again deploring Appoġġ for not taking further action to verify its initial declaration – made in its “urgent recommendation” for a temporary order – that the mothers were not fit to take care of their children.

“This should have been a priority,” she said.

The magistrate noted that there were pending proceedings in court, instituted by the German authorities, for Julia Wiedekind to be returned to Germany.

“It is in the best interest of the child, especially since she is not able to communicate with anyone and is feeling imprisoned at the place where she is being kept, that she be returned to her mother pending the finalisation of proceedings for the child to be taken back to Germany, if accepted,” the magistrate said.

She upheld the mother’s request, granting her care and custody pending the court’s final decision.

The court, however, imposed a condition: that the child is not to be taken abroad. The mother was ordered to deposit any travel documents in court.

The magistrate ordered the agency to continue supervising the minor “by regularly checking her place of residence and making sure that she is being adequately taken care of”.

She also ordered Appoġġ to file monthly reports informing the court of the child’s welfare.

The mothers’ request was filed by their lawyer Jean Paul Grech.