An Egyptian grandmother, imprisoned in the state since January in an international custody dispute, moved nearer to freedom yesterday.
A three-judge Anne Arundel County court panel reduced - from 10 years to three years - the prison term imposed in January on Afaf Nassar Khalifa, 60.
In an eight-page ruling, the Circuit Court panel called the original sentence "excessive."
Khalifa is incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup on her conviction for helping her daughter, Nermeen Shannon, 34, abduct Adam Shannon, 6.
Adam's father, Michael Shannon of Millersville, had legal custody Aug. 25, 2001, when Nermeen Shannon and Khalifa took the boy to Egypt. They also took his brother, Jason, 2, of whom Nermeen Shannon was then the custodial parent. Nermeen Shannon and both boys remain in Cairo.
Khalifa's attorney, William C. Brennan Jr., argued at a hearing May 7 that the 10-year term exceeded recommended Maryland Sentencing Guidelines. He called Khalifa "a bit player" in the custody case.
The state's attorney's office said that Khalifa played a major role and that the case fell outside the guidelines because of the serious nature of the crime.
Even as it lowered the sentence yesterday, the panel said Khalifa's part in the abduction "was not merely passive."
"She took an active role in orchestrating the removal of the child," the judges said.
But the panel also said it found "that the trial court's sentence is excessive." It reduced the term by making punishment for the various counts against her - including accessory and conspiracy to child abduction - run concurrently instead of consecutively.
Brennan said he believes Khalifa will be eligible for parole after completing one-quarter of her sentence. She has served four months, which means she could be released as soon as October.
Khalifa's family considers the ruling "a partial victory," said Dahlia Khalifa, 38, a Washington-area investment banker who is one of Khalifa's four daughters.
But Jeffery Leving, attorney for Michael Shannon, said: "The focus in our criminal justice system is shifting from protecting the victims to protecting the defendants."
