DHAKA, July 16, 2023 (BSS) - Japanese citizen Eriko Nakano finally won prolonged legal battle for the custody of her two daughters as a Dhaka court today rejected an appeal filed by the father of the children and Bangladesh-born US citizen Imran Sharif.
 
"Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan passed the order, scrapping an appeal filed by Sharif against a family court verdict that allowed Eriko to have custody of her two children," Eriko's lawyer Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir told BSS.
 
A family court here on January 29 gave custody of Makano Jasmine Malika and Makano Laila Lina to their mother and Japanese citizen Eriko Nakano.
 
Judge Durrana Rahman of Dhaka Family Court had pronounced the judgment, saying the mother can take her two daughters to Japan with her, if she wants.
 
The court said it reached the decision, focusing on the wellbeing of the two children.
 
Eriko Nakano married Bangladesh-born US citizen Imran Sharif in 2008 in Japan. They became parents of three children after that. In 2020, Eriko filed a divorce petition with Japanese court. Imran after that took two of their daughters with him and came to Bangladesh.
 
Eriko too came to Bangladesh and filed petition after petition with apex court for the custody of the two children.
 
The High Court on August 31, 2021, had ordered Imran Sharif and Nakano Eriko to live at a Gulshan flat together for 15 days with their two daughters. The court had asked the Department of Social Services to look over the matter and the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police is being asked to ensure the safety of this family. 
 
The court finally came up with its order as the estranged couple failed to reach a consensus on where and with whom their two daughters Makano Jasmine Malika and Makano Laila Lina will live, in spite of repeated instructions from the court.
 
The Supreme Court however, on February 13, 2022, said, until the disposal of the case by Dhaka family court, the two children will remain in the custody of their mother, while their father can meet them in the house.