Associated Press, yesterday

US Marine’s adoption of Afghan war orphan voided

Kidnapping in the name of Jesus. The story gets worse the more you read it.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — In a highly unusual ruling, a state court judge on Thursday voided a U.S. Marine’s adoption of an Afghan war orphan, more than a year after he took the little girl away from the Afghan couple raising her. But her future remains uncertain.

For now, the child will stay with Marine Maj. Joshua Mast and his wife, Stephanie, under a temporary custody order they obtained before the adoption. The Masts will have to re-prove to the court that they should be granted a permanent adoption.
Read AP’s Investigation:

- Afghan couple accuse US Marine of abducting their baby

Despite the uncertainty, the ruling was a welcome move for the Afghan couple, who had been identified by the Afghan government as the child’s relatives in February 2020 and raised her for 18 months. They dropped to their knees in prayer outside the courthouse. As they held each other, the young man wiped the tears from both their eyes with his wife’s headscarf.

The Masts quickly left the courthouse after Thursday’s hearing, flanked by their attorneys. The parties are forbidden from commenting by a gag order.

The dispute raised alarms at the highest levels of government, from the White House to the Taliban, after an Associated Press investigation in October revealed how Mast became determined to rescue the baby and bring her home as an act of Christian faith. But until now, the adoption order has remained in place.

“There’s never, ever been a case like this,” said Judge Claude V. Worrell Jr. on Thursday.

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