MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) — Russian Children's Rights Commissioner, Pavel Astakhov and a United Nations Special Representative, are set to discuss the confiscation of children from Russian parents living abroad by the countries' local authorities, following recent incidences of children being taken away in Norway, the ombudsman’s website reported Saturday.
“On November 12, Pavel Astakhov, will meet a Special Representative of the General-Secretary in Minsk, during the meeting they will discuss the recent cases of confiscation of children from Russian families living abroad,” the report stated.
On Saturday, Astakhov reported on his Twitter another case of a child taken away from a Russian family in Norway, following a prior case reported earlier this month.
In the most recent case, the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS) accompanied by police went to the home a Russian family living in the east of Norway, and confiscated a 6-year old girl, according to Astakhov’s statement.
“There was a disturbing message received from Norway, that yesterday [Friday] evening, yet another 6-year old Russian girl was taken away from a Russian family on groundless basis,” Astakhov wrote on his Twitter account.
“There is a disturbing situation surrounding Russian families, whose children are being taken away by Norwegian authorities,” Astakhov added in a separate statement on Instagram.
The prior incident took place in the city of Tromso. On October 8, five-year-old Oscar Shianok was picked from school by the CWS and placed into protective custody claiming that the mother forcefully “yanked” out one of his loose baby tooth. The mother however explained that the incident happened accidentally while she was helping him undress.
Based on past incidents, the CWS has been criticized for targeting children of non-citizen families. According to a report by RT, in 2012 the CWS took away two kids from an Indian family, while in 2013, they took away a newborn from a Nigerian couple.
