US: Appeals court annulls decision of Marine Corps to adopt Afghan orphans

2024-07-17 02:22:01

A Virginia appeals court ruled Tuesday that a U.S. Marine should not have been approved to adopt an Afghan war orphan, overturning the custody order he had relied on to raise the girl for nearly three years. The decision marks a major turning point in a bitter custody battle that has international implications far greater than the fate of one girl.

The appeals court ruling is a blow to Marine Corps Maj. Joshua Mast, who has been fighting a legal battle for years to detain the girl who was orphaned on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2019.

Mast and his wife, Stephanie, convinced a court in his hometown of Fluvanna County, Virginia, to allow him to adopt the girl, although she remained in Afghanistan while the Afghan government found her extended family and reunited her with them. The family joined thousands of other evacuees who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban took power in the summer of 2021. give her.

He turns five this month. The Masters insist they are her legal parents and that they “did an outstanding job” in rescuing the girl from a desperate and dangerous situation. The Afghan family who questioned Mast’s adoption had not seen her in nearly three years.

The girl’s fate remains unresolved. The ruling passed by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday did not clarify who ultimately had custody of the girl, who remains in the custody of the Mast family. None of the government agencies involved on Tuesday clarified next steps or what role they would play in deciding where the girls should live while the remaining legal dispute is resolved.

Masters might appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court and ask that Tuesday’s decision not be enforced through that process.

The court prohibited all parties involved from talking to the media regarding the case. Masters and the Afghan couple’s attorney did not return calls. A court-appointed attorney representing the girl’s interests also did not respond.

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