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| Sammy & Benji’s Grandparents |
Kerstin.Grill@bmj.gv.at
lll1_bk@bmj.gv.at
minister.justiz@bmj.gv.at
team.pr@bmj.gv.at
team.z@bmj.gv.at
16th February 2022
Dr Alma Zadic LL.M
Re: Beth Schlesinger/Alexander
You will recall that we had correspondence with you and your department in 2020. In order to remind you we are attaching a copy of our initial letter to you dated 20/02/20 setting out our position. We also attach copies of subsequent exchange of emails ending with our email to you of 27/07/2020.
We are writing to you now to give you an update of what has happened since.
As you did not provide any useful or practical help to our daughter Beth she was left on her own to try to pursue whatever avenue she could which would lead to having contact with her twin sons Sammy and Benji.
As you know, in 2016 she left Vienna after Judge Gottlicher made a order for supervised access only to her sons, and this was only allowed after Beth had had ‘parenting classes’. This was the final humiliation for Beth and she was compelled to return to England. Following this the only form of contact which she could have was by way of telephone calls or skype calls. Her ex husband Michael Schlesinger allowed only very minimal access in this way and only after Beth had tried many many times to call without him answering. As you can appreciate this was very frustrating for Beth also an abrogation of the children’s rights as human beings to have meaningful contact with their mother. Beth was being totally controlled and abused by her ex husband.
In an attempt to try and gain better contact Beth applied in December 2020 under the provisions of the Hague Convention for a holiday in England with the twins (later amended to a holiday in Austria) a visit with the children once a month in Austria for a day and weekly telephone calls. The matter was referred again to Judge Gottlicher in the second district court.
After several hearings Judge Gottlicher made an extraordinary order on the xx December 2021. She ordered that it was ‘in the best interests
of the children that Beth should have NO CONTACT whatever with the children, ‘that is – no visits, no telephone calls, no skype calls!’
From any perspective this decision is inhumane, totally absurd and has no connection with reality. How can it be in the children’s interests not to have contact with a mother who carried them in her own body for 9 months, who gave birth by caesarian section, who had the connecting umbilical cord to them and nourished them with her own breast milk. She has only the greatest love for them and they would for her if only they would be allowed to show it. We are attaching videos of us with Beth and the twins. The love shouts out to you! Can’t Judge Gottlicher see this! There can be no possible justification for this outrageous decision – THE TWINS ALLOWED NO CONTACT WHATSOEVER WITH THEIR MOTHER!!!!!
Do you expect a loving mother to just accept this decision and walk away from her children and never speak to or see her children again?
Well Beth loves her children too much and so do we! The court decision makes no sense whatsoever! No reasonable person would expect such a decision.
Beth wants to have input in the lives of her children and she wants JUSTICE!
Beth has therefore taken matters into her own hands and away from the judicial system which from any viewpoint is either incompetent or corrupt.
On 30th January 2022 Beth launched an International Campaign to be reunited with her sons, Sammy and Benji. The campaign was launched on facebook under the banner ‘Reunite Beth with Her Sons’. It was endorsed and supported by the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Beth’s local member of Parliament Matthew Offord, The CEO of Jewish Women’s Aid, the Jewish Telegraph Manchester, and the Jewish Chronicle. Since 30th January the campaign has attracted thousands of supporters for Beth from all over the world who have condemned Judge Gottlicher’s decision.
An interview has been given by Beth on an American radio show. We attach a link to the show.
As all parties to this case are jewish the case has attracted massive attention throughout the jewish world – UK, USA, Israel, Australia, Argentina, Italy and more and has led to many many letters being sent to the President of the IKG, Oskar Deutch condemning him and his jewish community for allowing such a travesty of justice to take place on his watch. You can read all these letters on the facebook website. Many liken the proceedings to the events of the Holocaust, children ripped from their mother’s arms by armed policemen in of all places Austria!!!! What were you thinking!
We are attaching a few of the letters just to show you the extent of anger this has caused around the jewish world. It was specifically expressed in each letter independently that the situation had undertones of the holocaust perpetuated by the Austrian Jewish Community (IKG) to Beth who although jewish herself was considered to be an outsider because she is British.
Also attached is a copy letter from the Manchester Jewish Representative Council, a body which represents the Jewish Community of Manchester.
The anger is growing!
Do you want another ‘Dreyfus’ affair only this time in your own country Austria?
At the same time as running the campaign and as a last resort, and in an attempt to allow your justice system to show that it can be impartial, fair and just, Beth has lodged an application in BG Leopoldstad, the second district court Antrag auf Ubertragung der alleinigen Obsorge, a new application for transfer of sole custody to her.
The application has been issued under reference GZ#3Ps/79/14h. This is an opportunity for your country to show that it has a heart and a mind to do the right thing free from any external influences and to show the world, which is watching, that you are an upright, democratic western democracy, upholding civilised values and worthy of respect.
Sylvia and Anthony Alexander
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23rd February 2022
Dr Alma Zadic LLM
Ministry of Justice
Palais Trautson
Museumstrasse 7
1070 Vienna
Austria
Dear Dr. Zadic
We are the parents of Beth Alexander and the grandparents of Benjamin and Samuel Schlesinger. We wrote to you in 2020 about the terrible situation of our daughter and her children caused by your justice system. We were very disappointed that we never received any satisfactory response or proposed satisfactory solution from you. Our daughter and grandchildren continue to suffer.
As a result of the latest court decision in December 2021 which denied Beth ALL ACCESS to her children ie NO PHYSICAL CONTACT, NO HOLIDAYS, NO PHONE CALLS, NO SKYPE CALLS, Beth has now launched an international social media campaign to bring the injustice of your system to the notice of a wider global audience. The campaign has attracted many thousands of supporters all condemning either the incompetence and/or the corruption of your justice system.
The anger of people towards your country has been growing even louder since the latest Landesgericht decision a few days ago. We think there is no better way to express this anger than to link a letter which was emailed to you (and which you may not have seen) from one supporter.
We are also enclosing a copy of a post from another supporter on Beth’s Facebook page, which shows how the English courts dealt with a similar situation in England. This decision is completely opposite to your judicial system’s decision. Comparing the two its quite clear which makes the most sense and which is in the child’s best interests.
Your court’s decision will lead to further parental alienation when what is needed is help in creating a loving caring relationship between children and both their parents. You are allowing manipulation and destruction of two young vulnerable boys with the sole intention of completely removing a loving mother from their lives.
We are further enclosing a copy of a letter which we emailed to you last week (see above) together with copy documents referred to.
We have seen on your own Facebook page how you welcomed the new U.S. ambassador to Vienna. How you discussed cooperation between your countries and how you would deal with corruption. So it seems that you accept corruption exists in your country. We saw how you celebrated your country’s new initiative to help women who are suffering domestic violence and abuse.
We also remind you of an interview which you gave to Die Kleine Zeitung, “I want to modernize justice and bring it nearer to the people” You said in an interview with The Independent, the English newspaper which was published on 19th February 2020 ‘Being perceived as different makes people vulnerable. It makes them dependent on the impartiality of the rule of law’. Is Beth, because she is English perceived as different to Austrians? Is she therefore vulnerable? She is therefore ‘dependent on the impartiality of the rule of law’. These are your words. Your system has shown no impartiality but the complete opposite – total bias in favour of Beth’s ex husband.
These are very fine words and noble sentiments but unless you put your words into action how can you gain justice for the people, or the respect which your office of state expects.
You have now been in office for two years. What practical changes have you brought to the system? You are obviously not accountable to us but you are accountable to yourself.
Admittedly we are primarily concerned only with our daughter’s case but if this case is representative of your system you have a lot of work to do and the recent court decisions of Judge Gottlicher and the Landesgericht show you have a long way to go.
Let the redress of injustice in our daughter’s case be the first light to be seen that you do in fact care for justice and the common man and your transparent action will be a beacon of hope for the sufferers of domestic abuse and violence in your country.
You are the head of the judicial system. It is your responsibility to supervise and administer the system so that it is fair and unaffected by corruption or incompetence. Please do not tell us that you cannot interfere in a decision which has been made by the court. Do not tell us that you cannot intervene in a decision of the Supreme Court. If decisions in whichever court are made which are blatantly incorrect or against natural justice or seemingly corrupt you as the ultimate representative of justice must intervene otherwise there is no rule of law in your country. Without the existence of the rule of law you don’t have democracy. Without democracy you have anarchy or dictatorship.
You are the head of the judicial system in Austria. You are a highly qualified lawyer as I am (I am a retired lawyer) as is Beth who is a Cambridge Graduate and a practising family lawyer so we are all familiar with judicial systems. It is blatantly obvious to everyone who has read the court documents that all the decisions have absolutely no legal merit and are an insult to Beth’s intelligence as a Cambridge Graduate and her qualifications as a practising family lawyer.
You now have the opportunity to show you are strong and a leader not to be manipulated for other people’s purposes. You have an opportunity to help the vulnerable, save the oppressed and disadvantaged. Isn’t that the reason why you entered politics in the first place. Don’t fail in your mission, don’t be controlled by the corruption which is blatantly visible in your country.
Yours faithfully
ANTHONY ALEXANDER (retired Solicitor) SYLVIA ALEXANDER
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Dr Alma Zadic LL.M
Dear Dr. Zadic
Re: Beth Schlesinger/Alexander
We are the parents of Beth Alexander and grandparents of Samuel and Benjamin Schlesinger (“the Schlesinger twins”).
We had correspondence with you and your office in 2020 drawing your attention to the outrageous miscarriage of justice carried out by your country’s corrupt judicial system. Despite our making it abundantly clear that corruption had taken place in this case you and your office provided no admission of fault or even help in trying to save the souls of two very vulnerable young children. We thought you would be an outsider who would come into the Austrian judicial system as an avenging angel.
We have heard your empty platitudes and your hypocrisy about how you are going to ‘modernize justice and bring it nearer to the people’!
You are trying to show humanity to the oppressed people in Ukraine. How you want to help them? You are a woman! Why can’t you save Ukraine and the Schlesinger Twins at the same time?
We sent you an email on 16th February advising of the result of a recent application for visitation which resulted in NO CONTACT whatsoever being given by Judge Gottlicher for Beth to see the twins. YOU DID NOT REPLY! We posted to you on 23rd February another letter describing the twins and our daughter’s terrible situation – a mother to have NO CONTACT with her children and the children to have NO CONTACT with their mother. YOU DID NOT REPLY!
Sometimes a situation is too immense or difficult for one person or even one country to resolve.
You, on your own, cannot stop the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. You can talk about the humanity and echo all the other empty sentiments but in the case of the Schlesinger twins it is within your power to actually achieve something. You are the Justice Minister for the Republic of Austria. You head the system. This is a manageable objective for you to attain (should you have the will to do so).
Bring the clear, apparent injustice to an end. Investigate this case. It is full of perverse ridiculous absurd decisions.
Children and their mother to have NO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER! Think about that for a second. Mothers are being separated from their children permanently in Ukraine because their children are being KILLED by Russian bombs. The Schlesinger twins are thank god still alive but are being damaged by this enforced separation. How does it feel to know you have the power to stop this psychological damage or ignore it and let it continue. It goes against every legislation which your lawmakers have ever made! You are all complicit in the damage you are doing to these children.
The twins are 12 years old. They are coming to the end of their childhood. It is not too late for them to be reunited with their mother and begin to repair the huge damage this has already caused them and at the very least they deserve the unconditional love and hugs from the mother who gave birth to them and who have had an enforced separation through the corrupt rulings by your judicial system. And just to remind you there has never been any plausible explanation for this cruelty.
Yours faithfully
ANTHONY ALEXANDER (retired Solicitor) SYLVIA ALEXANDER
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