sons and silence here for years. only once agreeing to an interview with an arab media outlet. [ speaking in foreign language ] she s refused all requests from the west, until now. hello? reporter: hi, nermeen, this is drew griffin from cnn. rerefused to meet with us but agreed it was time to talk, at least by phone. hear my point of view. okay. reporter: her story is a completely different account of the marriage, the kidnapping and the u.s. court record on the case, and though it may sound farfetched in the united states, in egypt and in the middle east, it is easily believed, that the entire u.s. justice system conspired against her. nermeen khalifa tells us it was not she that was the abuser,
never thought they would go this far. but just who is nermeen khalifa? and who is telling the truth about what really went on nearly 12 years ago? it is why cnn came to this upscale neighborhood in cairo. to find the mother who kidnapped her own children and ask her why. hello? hi, nermeen. this is drew griffin with cnn. reporter: it is a story very different than the tale being told in the united states. he basically, and according to the courts, feels that you ve kidnapped these children and have held them captive here for 12 years. i d like to explain my point of view. okay. reporter: when we come back, the woman wanted for kidnapping insists she is the real victim.
there s no way to tell. the picture i have of jason he s 10 months old. that could do you see any of your family in him? certainly i do. he looks like my daughter. how does it feel to be looking at these photographs of these people and after you said 11, 12 years you can t even determine if these are indeed your son? it s why i ve been trying to get a photo for 10 years from the government. the u.s. embassy. office of children s issues. state department. they all live down the street. just any photo. if these are my sons, this is the first time i ve seen them in 11 years. reporter: as we hang up, michael shannon is still not 100% sure. later, nermeen khalifa sent an e-mail to cnn claiming the boys in the images are not her sons.
but she refused to give us any pictures. in a phone call to a cnn producer she threatened to sue if these pictures we took were broadcast. when asked why she would consider a lawsuit if the photos were not of her sons, she didn t answer. through it all, michael shannon cannot pull himself away. that s definitely not an egyptian boy. that could be adam. what s going through your head right now, seeing these pictures? what? why why why did it take 11 years for one photograph? this is only two miles from the
nermeen khalifa has kept her sons and her silence here for years. only once agreeing to an interview with an arab media outlet. she s refused all requests from the west until now. hello? hi, nermeen, this is drew griffin with cnn. reporter: though she refused to be interviewed on camera and even refused to meet with us off camera, she did agree it was time for her to talk, at least by phone. i d like to explain my point of view. okay. reporter: her story is a completely different account of the marriage, the kidnapping, and the u.s. court record on the case. and though it may sound far-fetched in the united states, in egypt and in the middle east it is easily believed that the entire u.s. justice system conspired against her. reporter: nermeen khalifa tells us it was not she that was