12‑Year Abuse Allegation Rocks Pakistan: French Wife and Children Held Captive

Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arrested a man accused of locking his wife and five children at home for more than 12 years. The wife, a 54‑year‑old French national named Sylvie Yasmina, says she and her children were physically and mentally abused daily, and that the family was “effectively imprisoned.”

The arrest followed a police raid on the family's Bara house after one son escaped and reported abuse. Police discovered the family in a cramped and severely damaged room, with visible bruises on all members. The mother and children were transported to a women’s shelter in Peshawar and will soon be moved to France, authorities reported.

Yasmina told police that her husband has been violent since the couple first arranged to meet, while living illegally in Australia. They married in 2003, resided in Australia until 2014, then relocated to Pakistan with two older children. Since the move, the wife says she has had no contact with the outside world, and her children were denied schooling.