Guillaume Dominguez / Photo credit: XOSE BOUZAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 20:51 p.m., May 27, 2023

Eya, the 10-year-old girl abducted by her father and found Friday in Denmark, was joined by her mother. The case was solved thanks to cooperation between European police forces, as recalled by the public prosecutor of Grenoble, Eric Vaillant. But how exactly does this cooperation work? Europe 1 takes stock.

How could little Eya be found so quickly in Denmark? Investigators quickly spotted her thanks to the cooperation of European police. This is actually based on the Schengen Agreement. This coordination is not done directly between police services, but through embassies.

For example, with the kidnapping of little Eya, the French police very quickly identified the perpetrators thanks to the testimony of the girl's mother. He is the father of the child, a man with dual Swedish and Tunisian nationality, and an accomplice. Investigators quickly suspected a departure for abroad and immediately alerted the French embassies of all the countries through which the suspects could pass.

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An open judicial investigation

Information on the case such as the number of suspects, descriptions of the child, car registration are transmitted to the authorities via the internal security attachés of the embassies. They are police officers responsible for making the link between the French and foreign services. In parallel, a judicial investigation is opened. An investigating judge was appointed and quickly issued two European arrest warrants.

Once the suspects' itinerary has been identified, it is these warrants that authorize the Danish police to arrest them on behalf of the France detained in the context of a traditional detention. They will stay in Denmark for a few weeks before being handed over to the French authorities. Danish social services have restored Eya to her mother in good health. The latter traveled more than 1,300 kilometers to finally find her daughter after more than 48 hours of separation.