Eileen Clark
Eileen Clark was arrested in July 2010 after the US Government requested her return

An American mother-of-three who fled her allegedly abusive husband more than a decade ago has been extradited from the UK on charges of "international parental kidnapping".

Eileen Clark, 54, who had been living in West Way, Oxford, was put on a plane at London's Heathrow Airport by police officers.

Lawyers for Clark said she had been "openly" living in Britain since December 1998 and had laid down "deep roots".

In April 2012, they argued that it would be unlawful and "oppressive" to extradite her because of her psychiatric problems.

The Home Secretary maintained the original extradition order last August, but the case returned to court following human rights submissions and a new diagnosis that Clark was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder related to a history of domestic violence in the 1990s.

Last month, Lord Justice Treacy and Mr Justice Nicol at the High Court in London rejected her latest appeal.

The judge said the removal of children without parental consent was a "serious matter" which was recognised as such by both domestic and foreign courts.

Lord Justice Treacy added that the court was "dubious" about the PTSD claim, stating a "cogent case" had not been established.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of domestic violence charity Refuge, told BBC News that today was a "bleak day".

"It is highly disturbing that her claims have not been properly examined in a court of law in this country," she said. "Instead, this terrified woman is being handed back to the States to face criminal charges."

Clark was arrested at her Oxfordshire home in July 2010, after the American government requested her return. Her first husband, John Clark, began legal proceedings against her when she left their home in New Mexico with their children and moved to a friend's home in California.

In June 1995, state prosecutors charged her with "custodial interference". Two years later, the marriage was dissolved with both parents retaining legal custody.

Although her former husband never saw the children while they were growing up, he continued to pursue his case against her through the US courts. Mrs Clark was eventually indicted by a grand jury with charges of "international parental kidnapping" after she fled to the UK.

Human rights charity Liberty, which took on her case when she exhausted her appeal rights, said: "The very strong and compelling evidence that Eileen was a victim of serious domestic violence and abuse was not properly considered by the courts in this country."