Hope surfaces in case of 'state-napped' child

For the first time in three years, supporters of a boy “state-napped” by Swedish police officers aboard a jet preparing to take off for India say they have hope he will be returned to his parents’ custody.

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Family of 'state-napped' child beats social services

A judge has handed defeat to a social services agency that dispatched police officers to an India-bound jetliner more than two years ago to take into custody a 7-year-old boy because he was being homeschooled.

Word of the victory – that the government is not allowed to terminate the rights of the boy's parents – comes from Ruby Harrold-Claesson, president of the Nordic Human Rights Council.

Harrold-Claesson, who also has been reinstated as the representative for the parents months after she was removed on the objections of the Gotland, Sweden, social services agency, said it's a hopeful sign in the long-running custody dispute over Domenic Johansson, now 10.

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Son taken from parents to be taken overseas?

Social workers who had police troopers storm a jetliner on which a family was attempting to emigrate to India, to take custody of a young boy over his homeschooling, now have discussed allowing the foster family where he's been staying to take him to Thailand, the boy's father has told WND.

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WND: Psych studies ordered for jailed homeschooling dad

According to officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which is working with the Alliance Defense Fund on an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of the family, Christer's brother also has reported Christer was moved to another prison, near Stockholm.

"He is awaiting a forensic psychological test," the e-mailed report said.

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Tell Sweden to quit punishing jailed dad

"As you might have heard or read, Domenic's father, Christer Johansson, is in prison awaiting trial on Dec. 20, 2010. He was arrested after bringing Domenic home after a supervised meeting. These extremely rare meetings of one hour every five weeks, and under close watch of authorities, have been torture for this family, who have suffered unimaginable psychological stress and pressure," says the announcement.

"Imagine only being allowed to see your young child for this limited time over the last 18 months. They have not even been allowed to see Domenic on his birthday and holidays," it continues.

"Christer has also twice been denied his right to choose his own legal representative.

"We really want to bring this issue into focus and show our support for Christer in the upcoming trial on the 20th," the message continues. Because of the high costs of travel to the Swedish island of Gotland, a rally there is unworkable, but the group said, "We would like you, wherever you are in the world, to please print or copy the Swedish text found below and post this as a letter or postcard to the judge who will lead the trial on the 20th."

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Judge blasts homeschool family's reunion hopes

A judge in Sweden's administrative court has ruled that social workers will continue to have custody of a boy who was seized by police from a jetliner as he and his parents were preparing to move to India, according to a new report.

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Court itself accused of violating family's 'due process'

A decision by officials in Sweden to remove a well-known human rights lawyer from a case involving the custody of a child is being called a "stunning display of bureaucratic indifference and contempt of due process rights."

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Judge banishes family's custody lawyer

An internationally known human-rights lawyer who had agreed to work on the case of a Swedish family whose son was taken into custody by agents of the government social-services program for being homeschooled says she has been banished from the case.

WND: Hustled off in truck to prevent meeting human-rights lawyer

Social-services agents in Sweden have swooped down on an elementary school to grab a 9-year-old boy and take him out of class so he would not meet an internationally known human-rights attorney working on the family's custody dispute with the state, according to the attorney and parents.

Government officials then canceled a scheduled telephone conversation between the child, Domenic Johansson, and his parents, Christer and Annie, because of "what happened today at the school."

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WND: Top human rights expert to argue for return of abducted 7-year-old

Born in Jamaica, she married Hakan Claesson and settled in Sweden, where she specializes in cases in which children have been taken by state or other governmental officials.

"The lawyer is a real freedom fighter," Michael Donnelly, an executive with the HSDLA, told WND. "She goes toe-to-toe over this issue. She's a fighter for the family in Sweden."

She has studied law and political science in France and has done post-graduate studies in legal history and her law degree in Sweden. She has presented several cases of human rights breaches to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.

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World Net Daily: Court endorses kidnapping of 7-year-old

En ny artikel av Bob Unruh i World Net Daily.

World Net Daily (2009-09-18) War on homeschoolers spreading?

Bob Unruh på World Net Daily skriver en ny artikel, "War on homeschoolers spreading?"

The desperate situation of a 7-year-old homeschooled child who was nabbed by Swedish police from an airliner as his family was departing on a move to India and has been kept in custody for weeks is drawing international attention, with officials for the U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense Association now pressing authorities for help.

The HSLDA, the premier organization in the world advocating for homeschooling, confirmed yesterday it has sent a formal letter to a local Swedish social services unit involved in the case in which Dominic Johansson, of Gottland, was forcibly taken into custody minutes before he and his parents, Christer and Annie Johansson, were due to take off to start a new life in India, Annie's home country.

World Net Daily (2009-09-09) Police 'nab' 7-year-old homeschooler

Bob Unruh på World Net Daily skriver en artikel, "Police 'nab' 7-year-old homeschooler".

Christer Johannson explained on the website that his family was heading to India because his wife is Indian and the family was inspired by the challenges there.

"We created Mep Programs. … The idea was and is to help children by giving them the social and practical skills and support to take them out of the situations the find themselves in today," he said.