Thank you everyone for all your input and support, this really means a lot to my sister and myself!
Zoffiel, the modalities of the current legislation protecting only "the victim" is precisely what he is pinning his hopes on. And yes, of course I'm pretty sure that he knows he won't have to look after the children for too long. He's just hanging on to it for now so that he can get the lion's share of the money and after this is all over he can get the life he wants. He knows far too well that my sister will of course take the children back when it gets too much for him. And yes, he is definitely manipulating them at the moment, take for instance the fact that they were reaching out to her right after he kicked her out, but then the communication suddenly stopped. This is not typical of them. He is policing the situation and preventing any contact between her and the children.
Of course there's more to it. He also threatened her elderly parents by saying that he will not allow the children to see them again, not even for their funerals (!). In legal terms, this IS aggression. Would you feel safe leaving your children with someone like that? What values can he teach them?
