The German authorities have withdrawn the case they had filed in a Gozo court requesting the repatriation of a nine-year-old girl who they claimed had been reported missing back home.

In a note filed in the acts of the proceedings before Magistrate Paul Coppini, the German Youth Welfare Office said it was not insisting on the return of nine-year-old Julia Wiedekind because it would be “traumatic” for the girl to return to Germany on her own. The office informed the Maltese Foundation for Social Welfare Standards of its intentions in an e-mail it sent last week.

It would be traumatic for nine-year-old girl to return to Germany alone

The girl had been staying in Gozo with her mother Jutta Wiedekind at a shelter for mothers with social problems run by the German Chalk Circle Foundation, when Appoġġ social workers took her into their custody. They were working on the basis of a court order following action taken by the German Youth Welfare Office (YWO), which claimed the mother had illegally taken the child out of the country.

The YWO had also sent two social workers to Malta to take custody of another two children who had been staying with their mother at the same shelter.

They flew the children back while they were in the temporary custody of Appoġġ, leading Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri to last week order the agency to start proceedings to bring the two children back to Malta.

Magistrate Vella Cuschieri had accused Appoġġ of being “less able” to take care of the children than the mothers themselves.

The German authorities have now had a change of heart on their request for Julia to be flown back and have dropped the case.

Lawyer Jean Paul Grech appeared for Ms Wiedekind.

Meanwhile, Appoġġ chief executive officer Alfred Grixti is still refusing to answer any questions related to this case, insisting that no comments will be given until the official inquiry into the matter by Judge Philip Sciberras is concluded.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Grixti insisted on not answering any questions.