A Russian family living in Sweden is applying for refugee status in Poland. Their three daughters were taken from their parents and given to Muslims for foster care. In Poland, the Swedish services attempted to take the daughters away from their father. The Ombudsman for Children and the lawyers of the Ordo luris Institute intervene to defend the family.

A Swedish court took custody away from the parents and placed the children in foster care, 400 km from their place of residence. Although the girls are Christian, they were given to a Muslim family. This decision violates the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The father decided to take his daughters. After travel by ferry to Poland, he wanted to go with them to Russia. In Warsaw, the family was found by the Swedish services, which tried to take the girls away, contrary to the standards of international law. Their attempts were prevented by border guards and police officers. The family spent the night at a police station. The lawyers of Ordo Iuris and Mikołaj Pawlak, Ombudsman for Children, provided the Russians with legal aid. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Russian consul in Poland are also involved in the case.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the representative of the Ombudsman for Children accepted Ordo Iuris’s request for family protection. The District Court in Warsaw settled the case in their favour. According to the decision, the man will stay with his daughters in Poland.

“I am very pleased with this court decision. Hopefully, this is the first step towards obtaining full protection for the family in Poland,” commented Attorney Bartosz Lewandowski, Ph.D., Director of the Ordo luris Process Intervention Center.

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