Muslim mother 'abandoned her husband to take her four children aged five to 13 with her in bid to get to Syria' .

A mother abandoned her husband and fled the country with her four children aged between five and 13 in a bid to reach war-ravaged Syria, a court heard today.

Zahera Tariq disappeared last summer with her daughter and three sons, sparking an international manhunt.

The 33-year-old travelled from London City Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol on August 25. The family then travelled on to Istanbul, it was claimed.

Tariq was eventually arrested on August 29 in Kilis, one of the two crossing points from Turkey into Syria.

She stayed in contact with one of her four sisters, Aisha Tariq, and her sister's husband Siddartha Dhar, jurors heard.

Tariq's husband, named only as Mahmood, was completely unaware his wife’s plans and had not given permission for her to take the children, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Two of the boys also suffered from an eye condition called Keratoconus, for which they were being treated by Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Mukal Chawla, prosecuting, said: ‘One parent cannot simply take a child or children abroad without the consent of the other parent.

‘To do so without the consent of the other parent amounts to the offence of child abduction and that’s what this defendant is charged with.’

Tariq, of Walthamstow, east London, and her husband were married in Pakistan in 2000, and he joined her in the UK in 2001.

He returned to his home in Walthamstow from his job at a dry cleaners in Edmonton on August 25 to find his home empty.

He was described as a ‘straightforward man of no sophistication’ who was unable to tell police the exact ages of his children.

He was not initially worried, as he believed his family may be at her mother’s house or with one of her sisters.

But when she had not returned by 10pm, he called her mobile and the call went straight through to voicemail.

Mr Chawla said: ‘When they hadn’t returned home later that night he called his wife’s aunt and one of the defendant’s sisters.

‘He discovered that his wife and children were not at either of those relatives’ homes.

‘The aunt asked him to check if the passports and his wife’s jewellery, and he discovered that they were gone.’

Source (Dailymail)