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?
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. let me get this straight. [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won t cause me discomfort. exactly, because it s milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it s real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort.
a sentence later reduced to three years. a 60-year-old woman, she began serving her time here at the maryland women s prison in jessup, maryland. 14 months passed. then afaf khalifa, the only bargaining chip michael shannon had left to get back his children, disappeared. she was suddenly gone. reporter: deported back to egypt. before the state of maryland, before the prosecuting attorneys, before even michael shannon knew she d been released from prison. were you notified? no. no. the office was not notified that she d been paroled, nor that there would be any action taken by immigration officials. at the time. reporter: if you re wondering how that could have happened, you re not alone. the state department told cnn it doesn t interfere in deportation cases, that is up to the u.s. immigration service.
by immigration officials. at the time. reporter: if you re wondering how that could have happened, you re not alone. the state department told cnn it doesn t interfere in deportation cases, that is up to the u.s. immigration service. and no one from immigration has returned multiple phone calls and e-mails, asking for comment. michael shannon hired the lawyer who arguably knows more about international child abduction than anyone in the country, who believes the u.s. government not only has done nothing to help, it may have expedited afaf khalifa s deportation. these are american boys, american citizens. they re not entitled to be egyptian citizens. and they ve been held in a foreign country for 12 years, and the government unfortunately has done nothing about it. reporter: michael shannon turned to an egyptian court for help hiring an egyptian attorney to help him enforce his u.s. custody rights.
and all that time he has been fighting the court case back in maryland michael s sons have been growing up here. 12 long years. 12 years not even seeing a single photograph. but that is about to change. it s 7:05 a.m. sunday morning. the beginning of the school week in cairo. and two boys, appearing to be about 16 and 12, are walking out of the apartment building where nermeen khalifa lives with michael shannon s two sons. khalifa has refused to give cnn a picture of her boys. she has refused to allow the u.s. state department to take a photo of adam and jason. and for a dozen years has denied their father a single image. these undercover pictures, blurred to protect their identities, will be the first michael shannon has seen of his children since august 22nd, 2001. listen, i want you to do