A Maltese court has declared that a fostered girl who was taken away by her biological mother constituted an abduction, with the government now launching new action to have her returned to the islands.

The case caused a public outcry last October and her foster parents had organised a vigil to raise awareness about their plight, appealing for information about the seven-year-old, who was under a protection order. She had lived with them since she was six months old.

“If I could speak to her birth mother, I’d ask her to call and just tell us that our daughter is safe and sound. Please take care of her like we did for six years,” her foster mother had said during the event.

The girl was taken away on 9 October. Despite being under a care order, the mother and daughter left Malta. Europol have traced the child to a European country but her exact location is still unknown

The Social Welfare Ministry said on Thursday that the Family Court had upheld its request for the case to be declared a child abduction.  

Madam Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima rules that the child had been taken out of Malta in breach of Maltese law and international conventions. She ordered that the child should be traced and brought back to Malta immediately.

The ministry said the court's decision had been communicated to other countries  so that it could be enforced when the child is found.