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A Brisbane mum cruelly separated from her two eldest children by her ex-husband in Lebanon has revealed he asked if she can help them obtain Australian passports - but still refuses to let her see them.
Sally Faulkner, who was sensationally arrested in Lebanon in 2016 after flying to Beirut with a 60 Minutes TV crew to retrieve her 'abducted' children, has spoken out for the first time in years about her heartbreaking situation.
In 2015, Ms Faulkner's estranged ex-husband Ali Elamine flew their then-five-year-old daughter Lahela and two-year-old son Noah on a holiday to his native Lebanon before later telling her: 'They're staying here with me.'
The move sparked years of torment - and the now-infamous botched 'child recovery operation'.
Now, Ms Faulkner, 38, has told Constance Hall on her podcast How to Be Frank that Mr Elamine recently opened a 'line of communication...because he wants passports'.
Sally Faulkner (pictured), who was sensationally arrested in Lebanon in 2016 after flying to Beirut with a 60 Minutes TV crew to retrieve her 'abducted' children, has spoken out for the first time in years about her heartbreaking situation
Ms Faulkner pictured with her children Lahela and Noah who she has not be allowed to see since 2016
Ms Faulkner told Constance Hall (pictured) on her podcast How to Be Frank that Mr Elamine recently opened a 'line of communication...because he wants passports'
The childcare worker said she wanted to help her children obtain passports but was worried about her ex's 'intentions'.
'I want them to be able to get out of the country if they need to (but) the next thing is if he disconnects again and maybe because they are getting older he wants that next lot of control where they can't leave,' Ms Faulkner told the podcast.
The mother-of-five said she tried to reach a compromise where she could bring her children's birth certificates to meet them somewhere to sign off on the paperwork but her ex refused, claiming the kids don't want to see her.
'I said: "This is making me uneasy because why is it that I can't bring the passports over and physically hand them to you and he's like "oh, look if the trust isn't there, don't worry about it",' she said.
Podcast host Constance Hall then exploded: 'If the trust isn't there? You had me put in jail and you've taken my kids off me!'
Ms Faulkner said she raised that very point with him but was told by her ex: 'Don't go back there'.
Ms Faulkner, pictured with Lahela and Noah in Australia before her estranged husband kept them in Lebanon
Sally Faulkner (pictured right holding Noah) and former partner Ali Elamine (pictured left holding Lahela) were locked in a bitter international custody battle
'I'm hitting my head against a brick wall and once again I am the bad person,' she said.
'And once again he was telling the kids I'm trying to control the situation so you're not going to get the passports.'
Hall later added: 'It's so obvious that this is all about revenge because he wants you back'.
In the wide-ranging
