The mother at the centre of the 60 Minutes child-snatch drama has been blocked from having any contact with her children who remain in Lebanon.
Sally Faulkner was forced to return to Brisbane following the botched kidnapping attempt but now she has no contact with her children.
A family source says her estranged husband Ali Elamine, 32, is not letting her contact her five-year-old daughter Lahela or her three-year-old son Noah.
Sally Faulkner’s estranged husband Ali Elamine (pictured) has stopped all contact between the mother and her two children Noah and Lahela (pictured)
According to a family source Ms Faulkner has not been able to Skype the children, call them on the phone or see photos of them
‘No Skype, no photos, blocked on Whatsapp … and (Mr Elamine) is not answering phone calls from her,’ the source said.
Ms Faulkner spent two weeks in the Lebanese prison alongside Tara Brown and the 60 Minutes crew after the kidnapping attempt before she was released.
In exchange for the charges against her being dropped Ms Faulkner was forced to sign over the custodial rights of their children.
At the time Mr Elamine insisted Ms Faulkner would be allowed to visit her children in Lebanon.
Following the bungled kidnapping attempt in Lebanon Mr Elamine forced Ms Faulkner to exchange her right to the children for the charges to be dropped
Mr Elamine recently uploaded a photo to Facebook showing the children smiling as they eat lunch with their father.
60 Minutes presenter Michael Usher admitted the team had made mistakes and confirmed an internal investigation is underway.
‘There’s one thing we want to state very clearly from the outset: we made mistakes,’ Usher said.
Tara Brown and her crew spent time in prison following the bungled kidnapping
He said the ‘mistakes and failures’ had been ‘the subject of a lot of soul searching here at Channel Nine’.
Usher said the chain of events were ‘complex and distressing’ which had gone ‘badly wrong’.
Ms Brown and her crew, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment could still face further charges though they have returned to Australia.
The Australian has reported the child recovery agent involved in the operation, Adam Whittington, who remains behind bars, is hoping to be bailed in Lebanon on Wednesday.
His father, David, told the paper he was looking to raise enough cash to reach a possible financial settlement.
The last time Ms Faulkner saw her children her five-year-old daughter gave her a Barbie ring so she wouldn’t ‘forget her’.
The last time Ms Faulkner saw her children her five-year-old daughter gave her a Barbie ring so she wouldn’t ‘forget her’.