The parents were born and lived in Morocco. The mother was a Spanish and Portuguese national and the father a French national. The couple married in France in 2013 and had one child, born in 2014 in Morocco.
In November 2018 the mother travelled with the child to Switzerland and then to Portugal and on to New York City, where they have remained ever since.
In October 2019 the father filed an application under the 1980 Hague Convention for the return of the child to Morocco.
The mother argued that to return the child to Morocco would put her at grave risk of harm within the scope of Article 13(1)(b).
