I was forced to abduct my daughter

Elizabeth Prosser and Tamara. Photograph: Elizabeth Prosser

I spend most of my life in bed and in constant pain. I suffer from Crohn's disease, acute fibromyalgia, and epilepsy. Daily life is already a struggle, but soon I could be extradited from Wales to the United States for abducting my daughter.

If the extradition goes ahead, I'm not sure I'll survive the flight, let alone a court case or jail sentence. I always thought extradition was for terrorist suspects or major criminals, not people like me. I'm a 58-year-old British woman and held responsible jobs until my illness forced me to stop working four years ago.

I used to work for the American embassy. When I was 27 I moved to the Netherlands from the UK with my first husband, and began a job promoting US trade. We had three children together, but the marriage did not last and we divorced in 1982. My husband returned to the UK, and my mother moved in to help look after the children. For 12 years we were all very happy.

When my oldest son was 15 he got a scholar-ship to Manchester University and afterwards won a full scholarship to do his PhD in the US. My other children were all happy to move there and thanks to my work at the embassy, I was granted a five-year business visa in 1990. My mother, the children, our two great danes and five cats, packed up and moved to Pennsylvania where I started working as an export consultant.

Shortly after arriving, I met a local musician called Michael, and we began a relationship. Two years later, to my amazement, I became pregnant at 42. I was overjoyed and my older children, who were by now all married to US citizens, were delighted.

When my daughter Tamara was born I carried on working until 1995 when my visa was due for renewal. I had assumed this would be a formality so was shocked to be told there were too many business visas in circulation.

I was granted just a six-month extension. This was a real problem. My mother's visa had also expired and she returned to the UK. As I could not leave my children I felt I had no choice but to work illegally. Michael and I ended our relationship and it was agreed that I would bring Tamara up.

Then, to my horror, I was arrested for overstaying my visa and working illegally and placed in the local jail for six months. Conditions were grim and I was in a very small cell with four other women charged with similar offences. Michael had agreed to look after Tamara and when I was released on bail I went to court to get her back. A joint custody order was issued in 1997, making me responsible for my daughter's school fees, her clothes and effects, but allowing her father visitation rights. If I had left the US without Tamara, I would not have been able to return to the US for 10 years. And no American court would have allowed her visitation rights to another country.

As I could not live on thin air, let alone support my daughter, I began working for a local magazine. In January 1998, I was tipped off that I was going to be re-arrested and sent back to the UK alone. My three older children were all settled, but I couldn't bear the thought of being separated for ever from my five-year-old daughter - what mother could? Panic-stricken and distraught, I bought air tickets to Ireland and, despite a custody order stating Tamara could not be taken out of Pennsylvania, she and I fled the US. I did not tell Michael and he was understandably less than pleased.

We moved to Scotland, where I got a part-time job working in a holiday village. Tamara started school and although I was scared of what might happen next, I had a wonderful eight months with her. If I had my time over again I would do the same thing - the thought of being separated from her was unbearable.

One day at 6am came the knock on the door I was dreading. The police arrested me and bundled us into a car. After being driven to a car park several miles away, Tamara was snatched from my arms. I felt physically sick and she kept screaming, "I want to stay with my mummy, please don't take me away from my mummy." I was put on a plane to Heathrow with no idea what had happened to Tamara. Much later I learned that she had been put on a private jet to the United States. She was just six years old.

On arrival at Heathrow airport I was charged with kidnapping and put on remand in HMP Holloway for six months. The prison staff were sympathetic and treated me well and after six months I was out on bail. Nine months after I was arrested for abducting my daughter charges of obtaining money by deception were laid against me relating to my illegal work in the US, charges that I am vigorously fighting.

Eleven years later I remain on bail. I may not leave the principality of Wales. I may not travel. I must reside at our home.

I explored all kinds of legal options to get my daughter back, but nothing worked. I kept writing and sending gifts to my daughter's father but for two years I heard nothing. Then one day in 2001, Tamara called me. She had found one of my letters and seen my phone number. I was overjoyed to hear her voice and we stayed in regular touch by phone, letter and email.

I longed to be with her and became so depressed I sought psychological counselling where I was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Luckily I met a wonderful man, Phil, and we married in 2002. But two years later, I was taken ill and my health deteriorated sharply.

Last year, to my delight, Tamara and her father came to visit us. When my daughter and I saw each other again we clung to each other for hours. I showed her some of the clothes that she'd worn the day before she was snatched - she couldn't believe I'd kept them all this time. We did not stop talking for days. With her dad's blessing she's planning to go to a Welsh university in 2010 so that she can be near me. She's very angry about what happened, but Michael has done a wonderful job of bringing her up. He does not support the extradition order and has asked his attorney to oppose it.

A sword of Damocles is hanging over us as we wait to see whether I will be extradited. I'm not a baby snatcher. I brought my own daughter to the UK because I couldn't bear to be apart from her.

I'm in very poor health. Crohn's disease has attacked my digestive system and I have a colostomy bag. I have been prescribed liquid morphine to ease the pain. A senior criminal attorney in Pennsylvania said with the inadequate health facilities available in the US prison system I would be likely to "languish in pain". If I'm extradited to the US there will be no future for me. A previous attempt to extradite me was quashed in 2005 by the then home secretary Charles Clarke. But in December government ministers upheld the earlier decision to order my surrender to the US. My solicitor is challenging this and my MP is urging the Home Office to prevent the extradition.

If I'm imprisoned in the US, Tamara cannot visit as she is a party in my crime. My mother is 89 and my husband cares for her, so we are also unlikely to see each other again. The home secretary could stop the extradition order. If I'm forced on to that plane it won't be extradition, it will be execution.

• Liz Prosser was talking to Diane Taylor.

• Do you have a story to tell about your life? Email it to my.story@guardian.co.uk. If possible, include a phone number

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