The former partner of Latvian woman Baiba Saulite, who was shot dead at her home in Dublin in November, will be sentenced next week at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the abduction of their children.
Hassan Hassan (38), Forestfield Road, Swords, was yesterday remanded in custody to Mountjoy Prison, where he is serving a four-year sentence for handling stolen vehicles.
He has pleaded guilty to two counts of abducting his children in December 2004. The two boys, who were then aged 2½ and 17 months, were taken from Ireland to Syria where they were cared for by Hassan's mother and relatives until returned to Ireland in September 2005.
Before Judge Michael White, Sgt Liam Hughes of Swords Garda station told Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, that Hassan and Ms Saulite had met in Dublin in 2000, but four years later difficulties arose and they were living separately at the time of the abduction.
Hassan, who was in court yesterday, had not been made legal guardian of his children at the time of the abduction. Ms Saulite had custody of the boys and Hassan had access to them by mutual consent.
Sgt Hughes said that on December 6th, 2004, the children were staying with their father at an address in Blanchardstown and were due to return to their mother on December 9th. She rang each day to check on the boys but did not succeed in speaking to them as she was told by Hassan they were asleep or otherwise unavailable.
On the day they were to return to their mother, Hassan asked Ms Saulite if they could stay with him for another night. She refused and went to Swords Garda station. Hassan told her she would never see the boys again and that they were already in England.
In the following days Ms Saulite made an application at Swords District Court for their return. Hassan said the boys were in his native Lebanon and the District Court ordered they be produced on December 21st, 2004. Neither the boys nor their father appeared on that date.
On December 23rd, 2004, gardaí brought Hassan to court and Ms Saulite's solicitor heard him make several comments to her, which included: "You will never get the children back until you drop all charges." and "when I finish prison then you can have your children back".
Sgt Hughes said Hassan was found in contempt of court and remanded in custody at Cloverhill. Gardaí learned from translated transcripts of Hassan's phone calls in prison that the children were being looked after by his mother and relatives in Syria.
Hassan was arrested on January 7th, 2005, and interviewed at Swords Garda station where he claimed that he was afraid Ms Saulite would bring the children to Latvia and had removed them from Ireland to avoid this.
Hassan was then charged with abduction in August 2005 and applied to the High Court for bail which was granted on condition that he return the children.
Arrangements were made in September 2005 for his family to bring the boys to Beirut where they were met by Ms Saulite and brought back to Ireland.
Patricia Moran SC, for the defence, told the court that the case was essentially a "tug-of- war" between the children's parents. Ms Moran said Ms Saulite and Hassan had continued to live together after the children returned to Ireland and lived apart only a week before he went to prison in March 2006. Ms Saulite visited Hassan in Mountjoy Prison twice a week with the children.
Hassan, who has lived in Ireland for 20 years and is an Irish citizen, was convicted of criminal damage in December 2001 and for his role in exporting stolen vehicles in March 2006.
Judge White heard that he was on bail for the latter when he abducted the children.
