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An Afghan baby was pulled from the rubble of a US raid in 2019. The severely wounded two-month-old was placed with relatives in Afghanistan. A lawsuit claims she was illegally adopted in the U.S. in 2020. And taken from her rightful family in 2021.

Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro, and Martha Mendoza of the Associated Press wrote a startling expose of the case.

No one disputes that the two-month-old child was severely wounded. But her family in Afghanistan claims that she had made a full recovery after months in hospital and over a year in their care.

The American Red Cross had identified the Afghan couple as the baby’s biological family and placed her with them. 

In the meantime, Captain Joshua Mast was aggressively advocating to get the baby to the US. He asked then-Vice President Pence and others in the Trump White House for help. And he filed a myriad of legal documents demanding the baby receive medical care in the U.S.

Captain Mast had been trying to get custody of the child since the raid. But the joint military Afghanistan court ruled against him. And custody was awarded to the couple in Afghanistan.

Even though the baby was being raised by Afghan relatives, the Masts filed to adopt the child in Fluvanna County, Virginia, where they lived.

According to Karen Law, a Virginia international adoption attorney state law mandates an accredited agency visit three times over six months. And submit a report before an adoption can be finalized. 

Despite the baby being thousands of miles away, the Masts were able to adopt her. The Afghan couple claims she was illegally adopted.

The fall of Afghanistan marks the end of a family

In the late summer of 2021, Afghanistan was chaotic. The Taliban was seizing power.

Mast contacted the family and told them they could bring the baby to the U.S. “before the country collapsed.” He said he was “extremely concerned that they may not get another chance.” The couple agreed.

The couple had no idea that Mast was intent on getting the baby to America so he could take her into his family. 

Mast sent the family detailed emails telling them what to say to US authorities. “If anyone asks to talk about your documents, show them this text: I am Major Joshua Mast, USMC. I am a Judge Advocate…”

Mast applied for special visas for the Afghan family. He characterized the Afghan couple as an escort for a “U.S. military dependent” aka the baby. He got a passport for the baby with his last name.

And the harrowing journey began.

At a layover in Germany, Mast visited the Afghan family’s room three times. It is alleged that Mast tried to get the baby to travel to the U.S. with him and his wife. And was “insisting that it would be easier for the toddler to enter the United States that way.”  The Afghan couple says they refused the offer.

Illegally adopted  

When they landed Mast specified the Afghan couple is taken to Fort Pickett Army National Guard base. Thousands of Afghan refugees were at the base being temporarily housed.

Five days after the Afghans arrived in the U.S., they allege Mast waving custody papers took her away. The Afghan woman was begging him not to take the child. The Afghan man claims he was assaulted by Mast who pushed him down and stepped on his hand. 

Mast then grabbed the baby and rushed her to his car, where his wife was waiting, the lawsuit claims.

The Afghan child has been with the Masts now for more than a year.

In December 2021, the Afghan couple filed to reverse the adoption in Fluvanna. But it is moving painfully slowly.

 In September the Afghan couple filed a federal lawsuit. It accuses U.S. Marine Corps attorney Captain Joshua Mast and his wife of false imprisonment, conspiracy, fraud, and assault. 

Meanwhile, in slow-motion court proceedings, the fate of the Afghan child is being debated in a secret locked courtroom in Fluvanna County in the village of Palmyra, Virginia. This is the Masts' hometown. And they remain pillars of the community of about 100 people.

Mast who was promoted to Major remains on active duty as a Marine.

In Texas, the immigrant couple still grieves the loss of their child. The woman gave birth to a baby shortly after arriving in the U.S.

The Afghan man said that “Since we have come to America, we have not felt happiness for even one day. We feel like we are living in a dark jail.”

See Afghan couple alleges U.S. Marine abducted baby-Part 1