The Swedish social services’ decision to place three Christian girls in a Muslim Lebanese family has resulted in an international scandal, involving Poland.<\/span><\/p>\n After the Swedish social services attempted to\u00a0place Denis Lisov’s three children in\u00a0a Muslim foster family, the Russian father took his daughters and fled Sweden, unleashing a thriller-like sequence of\u00a0events.<\/span><\/p>\n Denis Lisov came to\u00a0Sweden seven years ago. In 2017, his wife fell ill, whereupon social services decided to\u00a0take away his children on\u00a0the grounds that he had no full employment and was therefore unable to\u00a0take care of\u00a0them. Instead, they were placed in\u00a0a Muslim Lebanese family. Lisov’s family formally retained the custody of\u00a0the children, but\u00a0only had the right to\u00a0see them six hours a week, the Swedish news outlet Samh\u00e4llsnytt<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/em> reported.<\/span><\/p>\n According to\u00a0Babken Khanzadyan, who represents the Lisovs, they weren’t given any opportunity to\u00a0defend their rights, and the girls didn’t want to\u00a0stay there.<\/span><\/p>\n After his daughters had spent over\u00a0a year in\u00a0the Muslim family, about\u00a0300 kilometres from\u00a0their real father, Denis had had enough. He took his daughters and decided to\u00a0return to\u00a0Russia. However, he was stopped at\u00a0Warsaw airport, as\u00a0the Swedish authorities reported his daughters missing. Therefore, he has applied for\u00a0asylum in\u00a0Poland instead.<\/span><\/p>\n A Polish court ruled that the Swedish social service had violated an EU convention that forbids the placement of\u00a0children in\u00a0foreign cultural environments. The court also noted that Lisov’s paternity rights had not been revoked, which is why the children could stay with\u00a0their father.<\/span><\/p>\n “The children have a very strong bond with\u00a0the father, and when I talked to\u00a0them they told me that they want to\u00a0stay with\u00a0their father and love him and do not want to\u00a0be separated from\u00a0him” judge Janeta Seliga-Kaczmarek said, as\u00a0quoted by Samh\u00e4llsnytt<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n According to\u00a0Lisov, the youngest girls didn’t understand anything, but\u00a0the eldest one had problems adapting to\u00a0the harsh environment of\u00a0the Muslim family.<\/span><\/p>\n Their lawyer Bartosz Lewandowski tweeted that the family was happy and rested after\u00a0the first night spent on\u00a0their own.<\/span><\/p>\n Trwa spotkanie @OrdoIuris<\/a>, Rzecznika Praw Dziecka Miko\u0142aja Pawlaka i mec. Babkena Khanzadyan z Denisem Lisovem i jego c\u00f3reczkami. Za chwil\u0119 przyst\u0105pi\u0105 do podpisywania wniosku o azyl w Polsce. Rodzina jest szcz\u0119\u015bliwa i wypocz\u0119ta po pierwszej nocy sp\u0119dzonej w spokoju. pic.twitter.com\/GkYUfeI0F2<\/a><\/p>\n — Bartosz Lewandowski (@BartoszLewand20) April 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n