This is what it's all about.
Dear friends, dear supporters,
Today, I am making a desperate plea for your solidarity for my daughter, Kim Hori, a 4-year-old Swiss girl. Abducted in Lausanne in January 2024, Kim is now being held illegally in Ukraine, in the Dnipro «Dnipropetrovsk» region, an area close to the fighting.
An endless legal battle Since February 2024, we have invoked the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children through the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ). Unfortunately, this procedure is blocked in Ukraine. The civil authorities of the Dnipro region have continuously obstructed the process, bouncing the case from one court to another between February and October 2024, in complete disregard of Kim’s well-being.
On November 1, 2024, tragedy struck our family: Kim’s mother, who had abducted her, passed away there. Despite this tragedy, Kim’s situation has not improved.
In December 2024, the local authorities granted custody of my daughter to her maternal grandmother, forcing us to restart the entire legal procedure from scratch. Despite numerous hearings, nothing has changed. Kim remains deprived of her father and her country. We are at a dead end: as long as the local court does not issue a ruling, no appeal is possible before a higher court.
Alone in the face of injustice This ordeal, lasting for more than a year and a half, has exhausted our resources. The FOJ has no funds to provide financial assistance to parents in this situation; we must bear all the costs ourselves. We also receive no support from the State of Vaud, which unfortunately failed to recognize the danger despite a first attempted abduction intercepted in Poland in August 2023 and several warning signals.
Today, we are supported by the Lavi Foundation (Vaud), which covers some translation and interpretation costs, a small but meaningful relief. We are deeply grateful to them.
Our new hope: the criminal route Faced with this deadlock, we decided to change strategy by filing a criminal complaint in Ukraine against the grandmother for child abduction and unlawful detention. We hope that the criminal justice system, as a separate jurisdiction, will be able to act with more impartiality and speed to bring Kim back to Switzerland.
However, this new legal action generates very high attorney fees that we can no longer bear alone. The situation in Ukraine worsens day by day, and the urgency is absolute.
Your help is crucial, in every form That is why we appeal to your generosity. Every donation, big or small, will allow us to mandate competent and determined criminal lawyers in Ukraine to defend us. Your support is our best hope of getting closer to the day when we can finally hold Kim in our arms again.
Beyond financial support, your voice is a powerful weapon. To help us put pressure on the authorities and show that Kim is not forgotten, please take a moment to sign and share our petition.
Every signature counts. To sign the petition online: https://bringkimhome.ch/petition/ To learn more about our story: https://bringkimhome.ch/our-story/ To contact me directly (meetings possible in Lausanne): https://bringkimhome.ch/contact/
Press article in 20 Minutes about our situation: https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/suisse-kidnappee-sa-fille-est-retenue-en-zone-de-guerre-en-ukraine-103291794
Video evidence of the situation: https://bringkimhome.ch/videos-des-preuves/
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your precious help.
Steven Hori Father of Hori Kim Lena-Maria – Swiss Citizen
Grand Council of the Canton of Vaud - for Kim 
Bern - Federal Palace for Kim 
Bern - Federal Palace for Kim 
My project is special because ...
The case of my daughter, Kim, highlights the urgent need for citizen mobilization. We must call on the Ukrainian government to demand that the judicial authorities of the Dnipropetrovsk region (Dnipro) respect the Hague Convention and their obligations regarding child protection.
The jurisdiction of the Swiss state in this matter is indisputable, as the child’s primary residence was in Switzerland before her abduction. It is also crucial to emphasize that my daughter is solely a Swiss citizen and does not hold Ukrainian nationality, which we have never applied for.
TIMELINE:
2021: My late wife, a Ukrainian national, forced me under family pressure to convert to the Orthodox faith, although I am Catholic. After the birth of our daughter Kim, she traveled to Ukraine with her for an administrative stay, but under her family’s influence, she kept our daughter there against my will (unlawful confinement). I had to intervene with the help of the authorities to bring Kim back to Switzerland.
2022: As the marital situation had become unbearable (conflicts, pressure, manipulation), I filed for separation in court in January 2022.
2023: We were still in legal proceedings, with joint parental authority and shared visitation rights. My wife’s health (advanced cancer) was worsening. Her mother came from Ukraine, kidnapped my late wife’s eldest daughter, and pushed my wife to return to Ukraine. There were two failed attempts to kidnap Kim (as far as Poland).
January 2024: Three weeks before the successful abduction, the court was already considering granting me sole custody of Kim, as her mother was deemed a danger. Despite the order forbidding her from leaving Switzerland with the child, she organized, with paid accomplices from her family, the abduction of Kim, who was then illegally taken to Ukraine.
November 2024: In Ukraine, her own family had her committed to a psychiatric hospital without treatment for her cancer, in order to keep both children under their control. She ultimately passed away there in November 2024, ten months after Kim’s abduction.
This is what I need backing for.
Your contribution will help us hire competent criminal lawyers in Ukraine, bringing us one step closer to the reunification of our family. We sincerely thank you in advance for your support.
Use of donations in Ukraine: CHF 5,700: Legal procedure and investigation fees. CHF 6,800: Criminal lawyers’ fees and retainer. CHF 1,070: Translation and legalization services. CHF 1,288: Ukraine / accommodation / living expenses, etc. CHF 7,594: Transport, logistics, and repatriation. CHF 1,048: Contingency reserve (4.67%).