Snatched Swedish boy may be permanently separated from parents

Officials seek to terminate Johansson family's parental rights

By Donald Hank

Both the ADF and HSLDA are asking for letters to be written in an attempt to renew attention to the Johanssons' case. You can download a sample letter using either format below.

Download the sample letter in Microsoft Word >>

Download the sample letter as a PDF >>

(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

HSLDA has learned that Swedish officials on the Island of Gotland may be seeking to terminate the parental rights of Annie and Christer Johansson. Seven-year old Domenic Johansson was snatched by a fully armed Swedish police unit in June 2009 while on board an airplane bound for Annie's homeland of India. Among the primary reasons given for the seizure was the fact that Domenic was homeschooled. His entire family has been denied any contact with their son for nearly a year. HSLDA and the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a joint application on behalf of the Johansson family at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in June 2010 and have been working to support the family since shortly after Domenic's seizure.

Both the ADF and HSLDA are asking for letters to be written in an attempt to renew attention to the family's case and to encourage Swedish officials to release Domenic back to his family. The United States Supreme Court has called the termination of parental rights the family court equivalent of the death penalty. Annie and Christer have done nothing worthy of such a horrific outcome. Will you join us as fellow advocates and take a moment to write to the Swedish Social Services Committee in charge of Domenic's custody situation? The Johansson family is grateful for your efforts on their behalf. ADF has prepared a sample letter or you may write your own letter to the committee. You can download a copy of the sample letter in Microsoft Word or as a PDF file.

Please mail letters to:

Swedish Social Services Committee
Socialnämnden
Gotlands Kommun
621 81 Visby
SWEDEN

A stamp for a standard weight letter to Sweden will cost $0.98 through the U.S. Postal Service.

Please also continue to keep the Johansson family in your prayers as they somehow endure this unbearable situation.

Our thanks to the HSLDA for this alert: http://hslda.org/hs/international/Sweden/default.asp

Email addresses of Swedish officials in charge of this case (they read English):

sofi.rosenqvist@gotland.se;

caroline.palmqvist@gotland.se;

lena.celion@gotland.se;

marika.gardell@gotland.se;

© Donald Hank