Facts
[X.] and [Y.] married in 2004 and have two sons, [A.] (born in 2004) and [B.] (born in 2006). On 26 March 2009, the Vice President of the District Court of Frauenfeld issued a marital protection order that placed the children under the parental care of [Y.] . [X.] was granted weekly visitation rights and vacation visitation rights. On 19 August 2010, [X.] picked up his children instead of returning them as agreed on 22 August 2010, and travelled with them to Gandoubah/Tunisia, where they have lived since then. On 19 January 2012, [X.] was found guilty by the District Court of Winterthur of multiple qualified deprivation of liberty and abduction, multiple unlawful retention of minors, and attempted extortion, and was sentenced to a custodial sentence of eight years. Partially upholding [X.] 's appeal, the High Court of the Canton of Zurich ruled on 10 September 2012 that the sentence should be six years' imprisonment.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the abduction of [A.] and [B.] to Tunisia constitutes a continuous offence. The lower court correctly considered the duration of the offence until the first-instance judgment was handed down, as [X.] maintained the unlawful situation even after his arrest and prevented the children from being repatriated to Switzerland. The lower court rightly considered the adverse consequences for the children's development and [X.] 's selfish behaviour as aggravating…