Yesterday on YLE Capital FM’s morning radio news annoucements, the reporter mentioned some new developments in the Finnish-American custody battle involving an American man, his ex-wife, a Finnish woman, and their two sons aged 10 and 13.

Back in 2001 they were living in the United States and decided to divorce. As customary, they each received joint custody of the children. In the summer of 2003, the mother took the kids to Finland for summer vacation and never returned them as per their agreement. Like in any kidnapping case, the U.S. courts quickly awarded the father sole custody and he flew off to Finland to fetch his kids. In Finland, he picked the kids up after school and drove over to Sweden, then took a flight with them back to the states, but got stopped by the authorities in their lay-over in Paris.

On YLE yeseterday, the reporter said, “The mother kidnapped the kids and then the father kidnapped them back.” This comment made me chuckle. So if someone kidnaps your children, and you try and get them back, that’s “kidnapping”?? Wow, I guess the police are guilty of kidnapping all the time when they retrieve a lost child. Heh. I’ve been calling the woman, Outi Koski, a kidnapper all along and was happy to finally hear a Finnish news service label it as kidnapping as well – but I was obviously a bit surprised to hear them call the father a kidnapper.