Miltiadous v. Tetervak

Miltiadis Achillea Miltiadous (plaintiff) and Inna Tetervak (defendant) met and were married in Cyprus. Miltiadous was a citizen of Cyprus, and Tetervak was a citizen of Russia. Tetervak and Miltiadous had two children, both of whom were born in Cyprus. Tetervak and Miltiadous had a violent marriage. Miltiadous drank heavily, had anger issues, and was physically and emotionally abusive toward Tetervak. The children witnessed the abuse, which led the couple’s daughter to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Tetervak sought help from the Cyprus authorities, but to no avail. After Miltiadous and Tetervak were married for seven years, the family traveled to the United States to visit Tetervak’s family. While in the United States, a violent incident took place, which led Tetervak to seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Miltiadous. A TRO is a court order prohibiting a party from doing something until a request for injunctive relief is adjudicated. The Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas granted Tetervak’s request and ordered that Miltiadous stay away from Tetervak, that Tetervak be granted sole custody of the children, and that Miltiadous be granted supervised visitation. Miltiadous violated the order by contacting Tetervak, which led to Miltiadous’s arrest. Five months later, Tetervak and her children were granted permanent political asylum in the United States due to the ongoing threat of physical and emotional harm from Miltiadous in Cyprus. Miltiadous then filed an application for assistance under the Hague Convention, seeking the return of his children to Cyprus.