Mama wa mabinti 4 wanaomkataa baba yao afunguka

THE mother of the four girls on the run from federal police has said she will get to plead her case before the Family Court this morning. 

 

The four sisters, aged nine to 14, have fled with their great-grandmother rather than surrender themselves to bureaucrats for a flight to Italy to live with their father.

The girls' mother said her lawyers filed a last-ditch application late yesterday to overturn a March decision forcing the girls' removal against their will.

"I will need to appear with or without the children," she said. 

"My application might be successful. My childrens' application might be successful. We'll have to wait and see."

The family has been living on the Sunshine Coast since fleeing Italy in 2010 with the assistance of Australian officials, to escape a man they said physically and verbally abused them over a period of several years.