The FBI is on the hunt for a fugitive father, Faisal Chebbi, who's accused of kidnapping his two children from Prince George's County and taking them to Tunisia.
Faical Chebbi saw a report by NBC4's Shomari Stone on NBCWashington.com and contacted us. Chebbi, who's still in Tunisia, spoke to Stone by phone Friday.
"I did not have anybody to tell me, 'You are not supposed to take the kids outside the country'," he said. "Nobody told me that."
The FBI says he kidnapped his six-year-old son, Eslam, and three-year-old daughter, Zainab.
After his divorce from the children's mother, who lives in Fairfax County, Chebbi had been awarded visitation rights.
Chebbi picked them up from their grandparents' house in Prince George's County for a visit in November. He was supposed to return them two days later, but instead flew with them to Tunisia.
Although he is now on the FBI's Most Wanted List, he says he will not turn himself in -- and he won't bring his kids back to the U.S.
"So of course I will be a fugitive," he said. "That's fine for me. It's not a big deal."
The children's mother, Edeanna Johnson-Chebbi, is spending time with their kids in Tunisia. The case has gone to court over there and she hopes the government will allow her to bring her children back to our area.
The FBI is aware of Chebbi's interview with NBC4, and they continue to investigate. Special agents are working with the State Department and they're in contact with Tunisian authorities.
Stay with NBC4 and NBCWashington.com for more as this story develops.
