Dylan, age 3, during a very happy reunion with
his daddy in August, 2010.
‘Dylan runs into my arms’
‘My heart is pounding with pure joy’
Istanbul August 1, 2011
Dylan’s dad describes the excitement of his latest reunion with his beloved “little” Kiwi son:
“ The final leg to Istanbul via Seoul, was another long haul but I managed some sleep, knowing that what lay ahead was far more exhausting - 24 hour care of my rampant 4 year old
“At my rented apartment I unpack essentials and dive into bed - but sleep has escaped and will rarely visit me this night. My thoughts are of just one thing - my little boy also waiting, and also restless, less than 10 kilometres away.
“I meet my long-serving Turkish lawyer, Nedim Yuca, for breakfast at 7.30am, we return to my room and have a brief discussion about my application to have the New Zealand parenting order upheld in Turkey, then we jump into one of the little yellow cabs.
“Barely 15 minutes later we are at the door on Yesilpinar Sok. I leap out and knock on the door. I can hear Dylan's excited voice inside.
The door opens, we grin broadly at one another - and he runs into my arms. My heart is pounding and pure joy rushes through every fibre.
“Nil is smiling,her older sister Sevgi scowling (I barely recall her with any other expression) and Nedim all business as he is chastised by Sevgi for not having come with a legal agreement prepared.
“All that is inconsequential to Dylan and I. We are hugging, grinning and hugging again. We then load his motorcycle into the boot of the cab and farewell Nil for the journey back to the apartment.
“Later we walk down Istiklal, Nedim and I, long friends after more than 4 years campaigning for Dylan's return to New Zealand, are keen to share a cold beer on this scorching summer's day.
“It's the first day of Ramadan and procuring a cold beer proves a little more difficult that anticipated. First we discover the doors to the Beer House, a rooftop terrace favourite of ours, well locked.
“After a few kilometres walking, during which Dylan asks to ride on daddy's shoulders, we find a cafe and sit outside, the only customers and ask for a cold beer. It's fore noon on the first day of Ramadan and our reception by the two mean working at the bar would at best be described as surly.
“For me, anyone else’s disapproval matters not at all.
“I’m already in heaven – I’m with my son.”
Captions
Dylan and his daddy share a joke.
Dylan fell in love with motorcycles after seeing photos of his dad's Harley - so dad bought this electric Ducati - a "Mini Monsta."
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Dylan and daddy excited
about next reunion
July 11, 2011
Today is Dylan’s dad’s birthday – and the greatest present of all for Bruce would be to be with his son.
In recent Skypes both father and son have been talking excitedly about the things they are going to do when Bruce arrives in Istanbul to be with Dylan for the month of August.
“Toys,” and “playing with toys” are clearly top of Dylan’s list of things to do with his dad. As well they talk of swimming and watching movies together.
Meanwhile the Turkish Family Court adjourned its hearing about upholding the New Zealand Family Court order that Dylan should be in the fulltime care of his father.
The next hearing will be in Istanbul on October 13.
Bruce, realising that the case is reach such a crucial stage in his four-year campaign to have Dylan return to New Zealand, is planning to return to Turkey in October for this hearing.
Four years pass since Dylan abducted May 4, 2011
Today marked the fourth anniversay of Dylan's abduction from New Zealand.
This little New Zealand citizen remains held in Turkey despite his removal from New Zealand being a clear case of abduction as defined by the Hague Convention on Child Abduction and the New Zealand Family Court.
On June 28 the Turkish Family Court will consider upholding the decision of the New Zealand Family Court (June 16, 2010) that Dylan should be in the care of his father.
Dylan’s grandmother dies as he turns 4
Her dream shattered of seeing him again in her lifetime
Auckland, January 9, 2011
Dylan’s father’s pleas to talk to his son on his 4th birthday ignored
Dylan’s grandmother, Mina Laybourn, died in New Zealand on January 9, 2011 – just as Dylan was turning 4 in Istanbul.
Dylan’s father, Bruce, already grieving the loss of his mother, suffered further pain when his pleas for contact with his son on his 4th birthday were ignored.
Both Dylan’s New Zealand grandparents have now died since he was abducted from New Zealand in May, 2007.
Dylan’s grandfather, James Rennick Laybourn, known affectionately as “Ren,” died on June 11, 2009, without realising his dream to see his youngest grandson once again in his lifetime.
In part of his eulogy, Dylan's dad, Bruce Rennick Laybourn, said: ”I am proud to carry Rennick as my second name and have passed it on to my little son Dylan. I
am sad that Ren’s desire to see Dylan again in his lifetime was not
fulfilled.”
Here is Ren’s entry on the Dylan’s petition site. lodged on May 10, 2009...
“I am Dylan’s paternal grandfather. My wife and I are both aged 85 years. We last saw Dylan when he was a few weeks old and wonder if we will ever see him again in our lifetime.
“It distresses me greatly to see my wife, who is in ill health, sitting with tears running down her face while she gently strokes Dylan’s photograph.
“Please help us get out wee man back home.
“Our hearts break for our son, Bruce, and we wish him all our love and best wishes. We are behind you every step of the way. You are our son and we love you, like you love yours.”
Newspaper's appalling allegations
Istanbul, September 18, 2010
Turkey’s Vatan newspaper today published a major front page story about the abduction of Dylan containing a long list of appalling allegations that could easily have been avoided had they taken the time to contact Dylan’s dad, Bruce.
A Turkish friend, who alerted Bruce to the story, assumed the story had come from Dylan’s mother, Nil, as there are so many incorrect statements that are detrimental to Bruce's cause to have Dylan returned to New Zealand. Sadly, Nil accused Bruce of having orchestrated the story – a clearly ridiculous proposition.
Based on a verbal translation of the story by the Turkish friend, here are just some of the outrageous claims made by Vatan:
1) Dylan does not speak any English – WRONG Dylan, long able to understand English, regularly spoke in English to Bruce during their month together in Istanbul in August. The implication that father and son cannot communicate is laughable to all who saw father & son together in August, talking, laughing, cuddling and loving one another’s company.
2) Bruce does not understand any Turkish – WRONG Bruce knows sufficient Turkish to understand all Dylan’s basic needs – such as whether he is hungry, thirsty, prefers water or milk, wishes to go the bathroom, wants to play, read, wrestle, play in the bath – and much more. When together they use a mixture of Turkish, English, pointing and showing in a happy, loving mixture with each teaching the other.
3) Bruce had won custody in Turkey and is taking Dylan home – WRONG Bruce won a full parenting order in the New Zealand Family Court in June and this has been lodged into the Turkish judicial process with an application that this ruling be upheld by the Turkish courts. A date for this hearing has not yet been set.
4) Nil had psychological problems – WRONG There is no evidence of this to Bruce’s knowledge.
5) Dylan has seen “baba” once since abducted from New Zealand – WRONG It is true that Dylan was blocked from being with his daddy in August, 2008, and again in August, 2009, in defiance of a Turkish court order (with no legal repercussion) but father and son have been together 5 times since he was abducted as a result of Bruce regularly making the 30-hour flight to Istanbul in his sad quest to have Dylan back home in New Zealand.
Bruce was very sad to receive an email from Nil accusing him of being behind the Vatan story, especially as he and Nil had enjoyed friendly relations, so important for Dylan, during August. While Nil's may have been an emotional reaction at the time, considered reflection would conclude that Bruce was hardly likely to provide information that was so damaging to his own cause.
In response to Nil's accusation, here are extracts from Bruce's emails back to Nil …
"Dear Nil . That's terrible The Turkish media is out of control I am very sorry to hear that they published such things.No one from there spoke to me & I certainly did not say any of those things
"The only story I know about was in Sat Herald They ran a story about New Zealand law being applied in Turkey and asked for my comment and a photo. You can read it online …
>>> Click here to read New Zealand Herald story
(the only error in this story is the statement that Dylan lack of English is “emerging as a problem.” On the contrary, his sudden proficiency in English is an exciting development that has deepened the bond between father and son).
"I made one very simple, accurate & loving comment The Herald story was absolutely a true story (aside from the language comment).The few words attributed to me in Herald story are all I said so I have no idea where the Turkish papers got that other information - certainly not from me.
"I told the Herald how we all had a wonderful friendly time in August There is no way I would have said anything to upset our friendly relations.
"I have just suggested to Nedim (Bruce's lawyer) that he & Serhan (Nil's lawyer) tell the newspaper it is rubbish and that they should explain themselves - and publish a correction. I am truly horrified & hope we can get them to put the record straight.
New Zealand Family Court says Dylan
should be in care of his father
Auckland, June 16, 2010
On June 16, 2010, in the Family Court, Auckland, Judge SJ Fleming ruled that Dylan be in the full day to day care of his father, Bruce Rennick Laybourn.
This Parenting Order is the only one now in existence for Dylan, following the overturning of a Custody Order by the Family Court in Istanbul by the Turkish Supreme Court.
Judge Fleming's ruling has been lodged into the Turkish legal system in preparation for a new hearing in September in Istanbul.
Turkey has decided to hear the case under New Zealand law as Dylan and his parents are all New Zealand citizens.
Bruce arrived in Istanbul July 31 and enoyed a wonderful reunion with Dylan who was very excited to see "baba" and asked sadly: "Why does baba have to live so far away?"
Dylan and his dad reunited briefly
- after 12 months separation
Istanbul. February 1, 2010
After being blocked from seeing one another for 12 months it was an emotional reunion for father and son in Istanbul on February 1, 2010.
“Hello Daddy,” was Dylan’s instant recognition, a little shy but he had no hesitation in taking dad’s hand at the courthouse and walking to a taxi for a wonderful month together.
The apartment in Istanbul was packed with toys brought from New Zealand. Despite the cold and snow, father and son were out every day, exploring the city. Sadly, Bruce and Dylan have not yet experienced anything but bleak winters together in Istanbul. Despite a Turkish court order that they be together in August, Dylan has been taken into hiding by his mother, Nil Çiçek, for the last two Augusts (summer) to block access to his daddy. In August, 2009, Bruce spent six weeks in Turkey fruitlessly searching for his son. As Dylan has yet to celebrate a birthday with his daddy, the staff at their apartment arranged a second 3rd birthday party for Dylan – nearly a month after his actual birth date of January 8. The reunion of father and son was not without the usual drama. This time Turkish plain clothed police came to the apartment and took Bruce and his 3-year-old son into custody for almost 3 hours of interrogation. Bruce was taken to a hospital before and after the questioning, presumably as a precaution against possible allegations of injuries sustained. The police questioning ranged from an interview with Fox TV in Turkey in August, 2009, to an anger that Gallipoli was mentioned on this website. In other unsavoury incidents, a stranger questioned apartment staff about Dylan and his daddy and another man approached Bruce in a café, with Dylan present, threatening that “the birds will pick your bones.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN
Dylan turned 3 on January 8, 2010. In a brief Skype connection he and his dad managed their first contact in almost a year. Dylan remembered his dad and proudly showed him birthday toys before grinning mischievously and asking that he and dad did the "haka" together. Dylan slapped his hands on his thighs, showing that he had not forgotten the actions to the "haka" that he first learned with his dad when he was just one-year-old.
Bruce went with Turkish court officials today to the house in Istanbul where Dylan has been kept since being abducted from New Zealand in 2007. Although some of Dylan's toys were there, the little Kiwi citizen had been taken away by his mother, Nil Çiçek, in astounding disregard for the Turkish court order or Dylan's best interests in being able to spend time with his dad.
This is the third time Dylan has been abducted - each time with a story about ill health. Firstly, Nil Çiçek said the delay in her return to New Zealand after her 3-week "holiday" in May, 2007, was a result of her ill health. A year ago she amazingly claimed (in writing) that Dylan needed to be taken to seaside as he had an iron deficiency and this time her sister says Dylan was taken away from the house as he was ill. This final excuse drew the unanimous response that it is normal when a person is ill to stay at home.
A LETTER TO DYLAN Seoul, Korea, July 31, 2009
Dear Dylan
Here I sit in an airport lounge on my fourth trip around the world to see you, my darling little son. You are just two-and-a-half years old yet the All Black jersey and shorts I have bought for you are for a 6-year-old. You are such a big boy.
I arrive in Istanbul from Auckland tonight with no guarantee that you will be in my arms tomorrow. This is despite the fact that the Turkish Family Court has ordered I have custody of you within the confines of the city of Istanbul during February and August each year while the matter is before the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.
Your mother rang me in the early hours of July 19 to tell me she was taking you away from Istanbul because you needed sun and sea and that you would not be back until after the end of August.
This appalling lack of concern for your best interests – the right to see your daddy – is exactly what she did one year ago (see story below). On that occasion I did not travel to Turkey as I had no guarantee of seeing you. The Istanbul police went to the house, established that you had been abducted (for a second time) but no action was ever taken.
When we were finally reunited in February, 2009, it has been a whole year – from age 1 until age 2 – yet you remembered me and we had a wonderful month together.
At the end of that month, in front of a court official, your mother and her sisters agreed that there would be weekly Skype contact so our bonding could continue. As soon as I left the country they cut off all contact. There has not been a minute since that I don’t think about you.
In February they informed me they had stopped speaking English to you – all part of an obvious plan to try and break the bond between us.
Dylan, you will read this one day and you will make your own enquiries and you will discover that everything I say is the absolute truth. A file of all papers and emails, including those from your mother promising again and again to bring you home, has been kept in a secure location for you to read when you are ready.
You were stolen from your own daddy, from your home and from your country. You were taken to a foreign land and that is where you are being held. You have a large, loving family in your homeland, all desperate to see you and welcome you home. Your sister, Gerry, sends her hugs and kisses.
Sadly, your grandfather died on June 11, his final wish being to see you again in his lifetime. He loved you very, very much. James Rennick Laybourn was a very special man, whose huge hands you have inherited. You also inherited his second name, Rennick, which was passed to me and then to you.
The fight for us to be together will never end.
If you are not delivered into my care on the morning of August 1, I will go with police to the Istanbul address of your mother’s parents and elder sister, where you have been kept since being abducted from New Zealand in 2007. Hopefully the call I received was nothing more than a cruel hoax and we can begin our month together.
If you have been taken I will spend every minute looking for you my precious wee man. If I have to post your photo as a kidnapped boy in major newspapers I will do this.
They will never break our bond or our love.
Everyone who sees us knows instantly that we are father and son. Not only do we look alike, we are so much alike. We are both very determined. The apple did not fall far from the tree.
I love you dearly Dylan. Hang in there son, daddy is on the way.
All my love,
Dad
Dylan's grandfather dies without realising his dream
"We wonder if we will ever see him again in our lifetime"
In a poignant reminder of Dylan’s plight, his grandfather – after whom he
is named – died on June 11. The funeral service of James Rennick Laybourn
was held in Hamilton yesterday, Wednesday, June 17.
Known as “Ren” he died without realising his dream to see Dylan again
in his lifetime. In part of his eulogy, Dylan's dad, Bruce Rennick Laybourn, said: ”I am proud to carry
Rennick as my second name and have passed it on to my little son Dylan. I
am sad that Ren’s desire to see Dylan again in his lifetime was not
fulfilled.”
Here is Ren’s entry on the Dylan’s petition site ...
Mar 10, 2009, Ren & Mina LAYBOURN, New Zealand Delete Signature Delete
I AM DYLAN'S PATERNAL GRANDFATHER. MY WIFE & ARE BOTH AGED 85 YEARS. WE
LAST SAW DYLAN WHEN HE WAS A FEW WEEKS OLD & WONDER IF WE WILL EVER SEE
HIM AGAIN IN OUR LIFETIME. IT DISTRESSES ME GREATLY TO SEE MY WIFE, WHO IS
IN ILL HEALTH SITTING WITH TEARS RUNNING DOWN HER FACE WHILE SHE GENTLY
STROKES DYLAN'S PHOTOGRAPH. PLEASE PLEASE HELP US GET OUR WEE MAN BACK
HOME. OUR HEARTS BREAK FOR OUR SON BRUCE & WE WISH HIM ALL OUR LOVE & BEST
WISHES. WE ARE BEHIND YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. YOU ARE OUR SON & WE LOVE
YOU, LIKE YOU LOVE YOURS.
Ren was an ex president of the Mt Maunganui RSA who fought and won voting
rights for women, some of his colleagues believing this was a national
first that then spread to other RSAs. He trained as a pilot and navigator
in the Second World War, training in Canada, but arrived in the UK just as
hostilities were ending. He was an ex teacher & headmaster. Ren is
survived by his wife, Mina, six children and 11 grandchildren.
All children and grandchildren – except Dylan - were at his bedside when
he died in Waikato Hospital on June 11. Ren and Mina saw Dylan just once –
when he was just a few weeks old.
Today marks 2 years since Dylan abducted from New Zealand Auckland, May 4, 2009
This sad anniversary sits as a tragic indictment of both the Hague Convention on Child Abduction and the indifference of the New Zealand government to the plight of an infant citizen.
Four-month-old Dylan was taken by his mother, Nil Cicek, and her mother, Hatice Cicek for a 3-week holiday to Turkey. They left Auckland International Airport on May 4, 2007. Nil Çiçek and Dylan were booked to return home on May 28, 2007.
On May 25, Dylan father, Bruce Laybourn, received an email from Nil Cicek stating that she was not returning and that “you will not see you only son grow up.”
Family tries to break bond between father & son
July, 2009 Dylan’s mother, Nil Çiçek, appears to be repeating their tactics of last year to try and break the extraordinarily loving bond between Dylan and his dad.
Promises in front of a Turkish court official in Istanbul at the end of February that there would be weekly Skype contact between father & son have been broken.
All contact has been cut off.
All loving emails and texts have been ignored!
When Dylan’s incredible month with his “baba”: came to a sad end on February 28, the promise was made – with a court official present – that Skype contact would be arranged. Dylan’s dad offered to pay for repairs to a laptop to enable this to occur.
This heartless communication blackout, in utter disregard for Dylan’s well-being or the cruelty to his dad, is the identical tactic used last year – when the family managed to keep father & son separated for a whole year.
Bruce Laybourn’s legal rights to custody of Dylan last August were heartlessly denied when Dylan was removed by Nil Çiçek to an unknown destination for the whole month – an action that incredibly remains unpunished by the Turkish courts.
Appeal lodged today April 29, 2009, Ankara, Turkey
The appeal was lodged today against the rejection by the Istanbul Family Court on March 24 of the application for the return of Dylan to New Zealand.
Any news of the Supreme Court hearing and its timing will be posted as soon as possible.
Judge rejects Dylan's case - the appeal begins! March 24, Istanbul, Turkey
Thousands of friends and family were shattered to learn that the judge in the Istanbul Family Court rejected the case for Dylan's return to New Zealand.
After a short hearing, the judge ruled against the applications for Dylan's return, lodged under the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.
It is expected that the written reasons for this decision will take two weeks to become available.
Dylan's father, Bruce Laybourn, announced that plans were already underway for a vigorous appeal campaign. He said he expects the New Zealand Central Authority of the Hague Convention to lead the way with an appeal to its counterpart authority in Turkey.
"What is the point of important international laws against such an abhorrent crime as child abduction if they can be cast aside on a technicality?" he asked.
“ We had been informed that Turkey had invoked Article 36 of the Hague Convention. This, in essence, allows technicalities to be set aside that may stand in the way of justice being achieved. If ever there was a tragic case that fits this situation, it is Dylan’s abduction."
