Ombudsman Karina Palkova, in an interview with “nra.lv TV sarunas,” spoke about a shocking case from her practice when the orphan court of Latvia decided to determine the place of residence of a child — a citizen of Latvia — in the Russian Federation, and currently the child is in Russia. It turns out that this is not an isolated case.
Before this, the child studied in a school in Latvia and lived here all his life with his mother — a citizen of Latvia, writes nra.lv. The parents divorced, the father is a citizen of Russia, and the orphan court ruled: if at 16 the child wants to live with a more financially secure parent, then why not.
"A decision was made very quickly and efficiently to determine the place of residence and educational institution, that is, to allow a change of school in the Russian Federation. And, you know, I will talk about this case again and again — both with orphan courts and with other institutions.
I do not understand how at a time when we talk about demographics, about the need for our young generation, that we must invest in every young person loyal to the state, we at the same time take a child away from our country and send him to a place where he will not be safe.
And if someone tells me that such decisions are made in the best interests of the child, then believe me, I will have a lot of questions. We are sending a child to an aggressor state that has unleashed a war, to a country where people are literally forced to fight. And we are sending there a citizen of Latvia, our future," said Palkova.
The human rights advocate has no illusions that it will be possible to return this child unless he himself decides to return to Latvia. At the same time, many questions arise, especially if he is a minor: are there means and will he be allowed to leave this country.
Palkova recently had another similar case. In December, a mother with her 12-year-old child, who studied in one of the best schools in Latvia, went to Russia. In January, the orphan court decided to deprive the mother of her rights and leave the child with the father — a citizen of Latvia. But it was already too late — the child was abroad. The father had warned the orphan court and other institutions in advance, but due to bureaucratic procedures, although only about a month had passed, the consequences could be irreversible — the child is no longer in Latvia.
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