A California dad is on a hunger strike in Kazakhstan in a desperate push to bring home his 4-year-old autistic son, whom he says was taken overseas by his ex-wife and remains out of reach despite court orders. Guillaume Garreau is camped outside the prosecutor’s office in Almaty, urging local authorities to act in the case of his son, Maximilien.
Garreau says the protest is a last-resort effort after what he describes as months of stalled action. He says he has not seen his son since March 2024, and that the boy’s mother, Sana Onayeva, has not turned him over even after authorities and courts in Kazakhstan recognized the abduction. Garreau said he is staying outside the government building until officials give him answers about where his child is and move to secure the boy’s return.
In an email, Garreau said he is fasting because he believes he has no other way to make authorities listen. He said every day without action adds to the suffering of both father and child. Garreau, 40, and Onayeva, 46, married in 2020 and welcomed Maximilien the following year, but the relationship later broke down. Garreau alleged that Onayeva became verbally and physically abusive, and he filed for separation in February 2023.
The case turned bitter in family court. Garreau’s attorneys argued that Onayeva should not be allowed to travel to Kazakhstan with the boy, especially because Kazakhstan is not part of the Hague Abduction Convention, a treaty that can help authorities recover children taken across borders. Court records and reporting cited in the case say a family court had already found that Onayeva committed domestic abuse before Judge Michelle Tong was assigned to the matter. Garreau also says Onayeva had wired $220,000 to her brother in Kazakhstan before the alleged abduction, though Tong allowed her to leave with the child over Garreau’s objections.
A felony kidnapping warrant was issued on March 30, 2024, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Garreau, a Bay Area tech professional, says he has spent more than $250,000 trying to get help from officials in the United States, France and Kazakhstan. He is French-American, and he says his son’s autism has left him especially worried about the child’s condition and care.
