IT is every girl's dream to have her father by her side during her wedding reception.
But for Leila Louise Fitton, it was not to be. When she got married to Sam Taskar in Bath last August, it was the pandemic that prevented her parents, Jim and Sarijah Fitton, from flying in from Melaka.
Now that she and her husband had flown to Malaysia for a wedding reception today, her British father, 66, a retired geologist, is locked in an airport holding cell in Baghdad, Iraq.
Leila said the reception ceremony would be overshadowed by fear and concern that her father will go to a sentencing court, anticipated to be around the same time.
"We will try to make the best of it (the reception)," she said.
Leila, her husband, mother Sarijah and brother Joshua Ismail have been busy campaigning for Jim's release from a charge that is beyond everyone's comprehension.
The story and predicament of Jim has been well documented in the media.
On a guided tour to Iraq last March, Jim was taken on an expedition to Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian site in a vast desert landscape, which was scattered with debris and broken pieces of pottery and stones.
The tour group, according to reports, was accompanied by a representative from the Culture Ministry, who allegedly did not state the items were valuable and had given them permission to take them as mementos.
There were also no signs prohibiting them from taking them away as souvenirs.
Nothing in the pictures Jim had sent to the family of the site showed signs of their historical or economic importance.
However, he was detained at the airport before boarding for the flight to Malaysia on March 20.
He was found with 12 fragments of pottery and other shards, which he collected as souvenirs,
These were sent to the Iraqi National Museum for analysis and were classified as "artefacts".
It was thus decided that case be passed to the Felony Court for sentencing.
According to Article 41 of the Iraqi law No. 55 concerning antiquities, "whoever exported or intended to export, deliberately, an antiquity, from Iraq, shall be punishable with execution".
While in Malaysia, Leila is hoping that Wisma Putra could expedite her father's release.
Leila said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah had called her and that her family understood the limitations that the Malaysian government could offer to Jim, a British citizen.
The family is also continuing to lobby the British government for support.
Leila said: "Since my father is a Malaysian permanent resident and has been living in Malaysia for such a long time (40 years), we hope the foreign minister can help us get in contact with the Iraqi director of public prosecution, so that our Iraqi lawyer can meet the deputy public prosecutor and discuss the chance of moving this case to the Court of Cessation and close it.
"We have faith that the deputy public prosecutor will see that this is clearly a mistake, as my father had no criminal intent, proven by the way these shards of stones and pottery were packed in his luggage, and the fact that the experienced tour guide said that these pieces had no economic or cultural value."
She and her family are used to Jim's travels, which had taken him to Yemen, Syria, Libya, the North Sea, Miri, Vietnam, Calgary, Albania, Bangladesh, Japan and Indonesia.
His travel last March to Iraq from Kuala Lumpur was nothing out of the ordinary.
"He likes to explore new places on guided tours to learn new cultures and the history of the place, especially a place of geology and archeology interest. He is respectful of other cultures and would never mean to offend anyone," said Leila, who last saw her father two years ago.
For now, she has no inkling as to her father's condition in the cell, although in his text messages (when he gets to reply them), he said "I am OK".
At the time of writing, an online petition started by the family has garnered 123,527 signatures, fast reaching the target of 150,000.
However, there's still no news from the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
"I hope my father's beloved Malaysia can help. We are worried and always on the brink of tears.
"Mum is praying hard all the time. She's keeping faith as a coping mechanism. We all are," said Leila, adding the family was encouraged by the increasing public support and exposure in the media.