A Maltese man is imploring the authorities in the Czech Republic to grant him access to his son after he was allegedly abducted by his Russian partner during a family holiday to Prague a month ago.

Anthony Busuttil arrived in Malta yesterday afternoon after an urgent trip back to Prague to attempt to regain custody of his son, Adam.

Mr Busuttil has only seen his son once since December 1, when his partner disappeared from the family’s hotel room in Prague with their son, taking only their passports and the clothes they were wearing.

Adam Busuttil.

The Maltese courts have since granted Mr Busuttil sole custody of his child, which should have allowed him to bring the boy back to Malta, where he was born and still lived and went to school before he was taken.

The courts also ruled on the basis of the Brussels II convention, which regulates cases of international child abduction, and should supersede Czech legislation.

The Czech courts, however, have not recognised the judgements of the Maltese court and are currently refusing to grant Mr Busuttil even temporary access to his son until the matter is resolved, a process which will take months.

While in Prague, Mr Busuttil caught a glimpse of his son only once, outside a police station, the only way he knows he is still in the country. When he tried to speak to him, however, the boy’s mother grabbed his hand and ran back to the police station.

Mr Busuttil chased after them but was not allowed to see his son. He claims the Czech authorities offered no help or information and were cold throughout all his interactions, even once threatening him with arrest.

“I feel helpless and disappointed,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta. “To see your son, terrified of you, pulled away by his mother, what else can you feel?”

I love you more than my own life. Come home

Mr Busuttil’s lawyers are now pushing for the case to be heard by the Maltese courts, on the basis that his son is a Maltese citizen and resident, but Mr Busuttil is asking for regular access and contact time until the issue is decided.

“I’ll move to Prague and live there if I have to,” he said. “I just want to see my son.”

His fear is that the child’s mother – who took the boy’s passport when she ran away – could at any time take him back to her native Russia where securing access or the boy’s return would be even more difficult.

Asked what message he would pass on to his son if he could, Mr Busuttil said: “I love you more than my own life. Come home.”