Feb 6, 2013
Jun 15, 2012
June 14, 2012
HSLDA: Parents of “State-Napped” Boy Hopeful after Favorable Court Ruling
In a major breakthrough, a Swedish district court has ruled that the parental rights of Annie and Christer Johansson will not be terminated. In its 23-page detailed opinion, the court stated it could not ignore the unanimous and extensive testimony of firsthand accounts of friends, family and others that Dominic Johansson was being properly cared for by his parents prior to Swedish authorities seizing him on June 26, 2009.
The boy and his parents...READ MORE
Apr 8, 2012
Mar 21, 2012
Feb 17, 2012
Homeschool Leader Flees Swedish Persecution
| Homeschool Leader Flees Swedish Persecution | | Print | |
| Written by Alex Newman |
| Friday, 17 February 2012 09:38 |
 As the government intensifies its persecution of homeschoolers in Sweden, the president of the Swedish Association for Home Education (ROHUS) has finally been forced into exile with his family in neighboring Finland. The battle for human rights and homeschooling in the Scandinavian kingdom, however, is far from over.The Swedish Parliament passed a draconian law in 2010 purporting to ban homeschooling, all school curriculums except the Swedish government’s, and all alternative education nationwide. Despite a global outcry, the prohibition went into effect last year. Dozens of families were left wondering what fate might await them. But so far, the official persecution campaign has backfired in a stunning way. After fighting a valiant years-long battle for the right to homeschool in his native land, ROHUS chief Jonas Himmelstrand (above left) — probably the most prominent advocate for homeschooling in Scandinavia — decided it was time to join more than a dozen families that have already fled. The persecution was only getting worse, and there was not much cause for optimism about the immediate future. Until recently, Himmelstrand still held on to some hope. He had decided to stay and keep fighting — at least until the situation deteriorated further. Late last year, however, that time came. It had finally become intolerable.....Read more |
CRISIS MAGAZINE: Leviathan Groaning
February 17, 2012
Leviathan Groaning
On June 25, 2009, a seven year old boy was abducted at gunpoint from his terrified parents. They had just boarded a plane to fly to the country where the boy’s mother had been born, and where her kin still lived. They were leaving their own country for good, because they had grown weary of the harassment they suffered there from a syndicate of well-placed thugs. They themselves had broken no law.
The boy’s name is Domenic Johansson. He is now going on ten years old, and he has seen his mother and father only very briefly since. The thugs, officials of the Swedish government, have allowed the parents very little opportunity to visit. Domenic’s mother has suffered a nervous breakdown, and is now quite incapacitated. The foster-woman into whose care Domenic was given has informed the boy that she will never let him return to his mother and father, no matter what any court might say. Domenic, once a cheerful little boy, looks haggard, crushed, dull, as if the heart had been ripped out of him.
What was the crime committed by Christer Johansson and his wife? They did not run drugs. They did not steal. They did not....Read more
Jan 18, 2012
HSLDA: Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Homeschooled Kids!
Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister:
Take Homeschooled Kids!
The Challenge from Edholm’s blog/ Lotta Edholm | ||
| “The law should be amended so that social services are able to intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.” | ||
Edholm writes in her blog “That the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs, Maria Larsson … should take an initiative to change the social services act so that the social authorities can intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.” Read more...
Dec 20, 2011
Custody Case
Gotland Court Refuses to Hear Transfer of Custody In the Case of Domenic Johansson
We've received news today that Gotland Courts have refused to grant a hearing on the transfer of custody of now 10 year old Domenic Johansson from his parents and to foster parents. During a December 9th preliminary hearing, the Johanssons and representatives of Gotland Social Services were asked to present evidence supporting or refuting the need for custody transfer. After reviewing all the evidence, news was recieved today that the presiding judge has determined there was not enough evidence suggesting Annie and Christer Johansson should permanently lose the custody of their son. To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first time in the 2.5 years of this battle, where the Johanssons were finally allowed representation in court by an attorney of their choosing, Ruby Harrold-Claesson.
While this latest court decision does not lift the ongoing LVU order, it is a very bright star in an otherwise bleak journey through the Swedish Social Services system. Now that a judge has finally heard and weighed evidence from all sides and has found the side of Gotland Social Services to be wanting in their case against the Johanssons, it is our hope that the dissolution of the LVU case will soon follow with Domenic placed back into his rightful position within the bossom of his family.
Click HERE to read background on this case.
Click HERE to read an open letter from Christer Johansson, Domenic's father.
While this latest court decision does not lift the ongoing LVU order, it is a very bright star in an otherwise bleak journey through the Swedish Social Services system. Now that a judge has finally heard and weighed evidence from all sides and has found the side of Gotland Social Services to be wanting in their case against the Johanssons, it is our hope that the dissolution of the LVU case will soon follow with Domenic placed back into his rightful position within the bossom of his family.
Click HERE to read background on this case.
Click HERE to read an open letter from Christer Johansson, Domenic's father.
Dec 19, 2011
Open Letter & Timeline
Open Letter From Grieving Father
by Christer Johansson
I've read the Discrimination Law, the Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention, the Swedish Government Third Wave of Implementation of Human Rights and I have no other option but to conclude that our family is being gravely discriminated against by the Social Service on Gotland.
My name is Christer Johansson and I am the father of a bright, beautiful boy that has been broken into millions of pieces by the Social Services in Gotland Kommun. As perhaps you know, Domenic was taken from us in 2009 as we were on our way to India. This happened after a year of harassment and disputes over our right to educate Domenic at home. Once they took Domenic from us, we started a process of hearings and appeals to determine if we were fit parents and if Domenic was to live with us or with a foster family.
What follows is an account of some of the miscarriages of justice and blunt discrimination with which the Social Services approached our case from the very beginning. The social workers presented reports based on inventions and untruthful statements and they were not challenged by the lawyers that were supposed to defend us. Pure gossip was elevated to the status of science while sound statements by psychologists and doctors on the mental and physical health of the family were dismissed.
Just as an example, the Social Board asked the social workers at the beginning of the process about the grounds for taking custody from the parents and placing Domenic in foster care. Social worker Caroline Palmqvist stated that it was "on account of Christer's mental health." This was the first time any of us heard that my mental health was an issue. On no occasion before the moment they took my son from me had anybody within the system mention this. Now, I have proved twice and with sound reports from experts, that I do not have a mental health problem. I did suffer the trauma of suffering an earthquake and a robbery that almost took my life and took everything I had. That is different than having a mental disorder.
When mental health could not be pressed harder as a reason for justifying taking my son from me, they accused me of being a drug addict. I said, “Let me go and test myself.” Now in Sweden, to go and test yourself a Social Worker has to make the request. In this case it was the responsibility of Sofie Rosenquist to make such request. She did not do it, and she did not do it repeatedly forcing me to plea with the laboratory in charge of the testing to do it anyway. They did and it came back clean. I sent the results to Sofie Rosenquist who later on testified that I had not taken the test. Despite my complaints nobody in the court system followed up on her statement or on the laboratory.
All of a sudden I ceased being an issue and they focused on the fact that Domenic had been educated at home. It did not seem to matter that we won the case regarding homeschooling before Domenic was taken from us. It did not seem to matter that we have, in fact, registered Domenic in public school in Havdhem. It did not seem to matter that I was also invited to work there as I have been working as a teacher for many years.
The social service did not accept that. Instead, they registered Domenic in a different school far away from us. This together with the draconian rules for visitation of our own son which included not taking pictures, not speaking about the case, not bringing food with us, especially not Indian food, and not bringing gifts, is a carefully designed plan to force isolation and it goes against the law.
To further complicate matters, once my mental health or supposed drug use could no longer be established, they decided to discuss Annie’s mental health. Now Annie has never been examined for any kind of psychological issue. All comments regarding her mental health were made by social workers with no training in the field. These social workers took upon themselves to elaborate a scientific explanation for what they deemed "inappropriate grieving" after being forcefully separated from her only son. Social workers declared that Annie did not know what was best for her son and such a comment stood in court as evidence that she in fact did not know how to care for Domenic. It did not matter that Domenic was healthy for 7 years and that he was an intelligent well adjusted kid. They examined him for everything, his physical health and his intellectual and emotional development. They found nothing and now we are denied access to these reports by the Gotland Social Services.
While all this is taking place in court, we were still having very short visits every 5 weeks and at the time of his 8th birthday we were told that Domenic did not want to see us. We were told once we have arrived to the center, with my mother and father hoping for a nice celebration. There was no communication between the Social Services and us and no discussion on Domenic’s reasons. We had to turn around and go home, devastated. I have never seen my father so unhappy and disappointed. On the next occasion we saw Domenic I asked him about this and he denied having said that he did not want to see us. He was very sad and disconcerted. I confronted Sofie Rosenqvist and Caroline Palmqvist and demanded an explanation and their response was that Domenic had a better life now and that they have already made the decision of keeping us apart.
In this same conversation I brought up the issue of my supposed mental health problems and the fact that I had proof of not having any to which they first replied that they could not comment but then went on saying that I have a “personality disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.” To add to their gruesome picture of me and my family, they commented upon the "distressing fact" that Domenic tends to hug other kids when he is happy and how such conduct is evidence of a deviant tendency that needs to be corrected.
New hearings in court kept bringing up new questions about my mental health and now it was this assumption of me having Asperger’s Syndrome. This was again denied by the reports after exhaustive examination and yet the lawyer Rickard Ploman continued in court to call me mentally ill and that I have a personality disorder. He has done that every time in every hearing. He is the lawyer appointed to me by the court. Now, why would my own lawyer continue referring to my mental health knowing first, that it is not true, and second, that it damages my chances of winning the case? I leave that question open because I truly do not have an answer.
The character assassination continued with reports on our house, the lack of furniture and a certain degree of messiness on the second floor. It is not noted, however, that we were at that point planning to move back to India and that we were in the process of selling all our furniture and doing some renovations before closing the house definitely.
Before I go, we have done everything we were asked to do in order to proof that we are fit parents while social services have proven shown that we are not. We have made every effort to show the circumstances of our family and the importance of us staying together after suffering two very traumatic experiences. Professor Trevor Archer, Swedish expert in Trauma, testified in our behalf and warned the court about the harm it will create to separate the family unit both for Domenic and for us.
Our future is in your hands, especially Domenic's. As Professor Archer said, Domenic can never heal from the trauma unless he comes home. And he was home for a few hours and he said to me “Daddy, what I fear the most is to go back to that family."
My son Domenic does not even cry when he hurts himself. He cannot cry anymore, which is more than enough proof that he is severely damaged him. The law is there to protect our family against violations such as this, but still after two years, the socials services continue to harm both Annie and me and Domenic. They have told him already, "You are going to stay here until your 16 years old." Domenic told me in November 2010. And now, they are telling us that they want to withdrawal full custody and give it to his foster family.
Christer Johansson
TIMELINE
Fall of 2008: The Johansson’s (Christer and Annie) contact the Ministry of Education and after being told that they could homeschool and start the process amidst the obstruction of local school officials. They make the decision of homeschooling base on their plans to move to India in a few months and consider that this will ease Domenic's (born 2002) transition and adjustment.
January 2009: After being fined and visited by social services on many occasions, Christer Johansson calls for meetings to discuss this matter, to no avail. The authorities decide that Domenic has to go to school.
February 11. 2009: The Child and education department orders the family to pay a fine of 250 SEK per day that Domenic is not at school. The Social Services intensify their pressure on the family. Homeschooling is still the only issue.
May 27th 2009: An action is taking to enforce the payment of the fine (Now 15.000 SKr). The court refused to enforce it because the school year is over - an implicit recognition of the right of the family to homeschool under the law at that time (it became illegal in July 2011). Christer Johansson informs the court of the family intention to move to India on June 26th. There is no court order or any other legal action taken to prevent the Johanssons from moving to India as was their plan.
June 25, 2009: Domenic and his parents are seated on the flight to India. Swedish police take Domenic from the plane. They alleged that there has been an anonymous report on the family (this has never been confirmed). The family cooperates. They are told that some social workers are going to talk to Domenic for a few minutes, they agree to let him go. The social worker takes Domenic from the airport. Annie collapses.
The Social Services agree to place Domenic with his uncle, Christer's brother, Mike. The parents are told that they will be able to have Domenic back the following Monday. When they go to pick him up, they are told that they have found two cavities, that Domenic seems to be extremely shy and not behaving like a normal kid of his age, and they consider this to be evidence that there is a developmental problem. From here on there is reference to Domenic's mental health. This time both Annie and Christer collapsed. Due to their physical and emotional reaction the social services decide to not allow them to see Domenic. They finally see Domenic 6 WEEKS later. In Christer's words "he (Domenic) was broken in small pieces"
August 4th, 2009: First hearing.
August 13th, 2009: The court upheld the decision of removal of physical custody without any medical or psychological report stating abuse or neglect.
The parents are not allowed to visit Domenic on his birthday and new conditions are imposed on the visits:
No toys- Domenic cannot receive any kind of gift from his parents and definitely nothing that he could take with him to his foster home.
No taking pictures or filming- therefore no evidence can be provided about the attitude of the Social Workers and their impediments to allow the family to bond.
No speaking about the case- there is no possibility for the parents to speak freely with Domenic, explain the situation and comfort him.
November 30th, 2009: Court of appeals upholds decision largely based on a psychiatric report of Domenic that suggests he was “developmentally delayed”. This report was performed after Domenic has been months separated from his parents with limited, closely supervised visits .
January 27th, 2010: Swedish Supreme Administrative Court denied the appeal exhausting the domestic appeals in this case and making it possible to present a petition on the family's behalf in European Court of Human Rights.
In Sweden, the system allows for a revision to see if the child should remain in State's custody or can go back to his family. This happens every 6 months more or less. These are some of the actions taken to that effect:
May 13th 2010: Johansson's Lawyer Ruby Harrold-Claesson (Nordic Committee for Human Rights) is dismissed by the court in Gotland upon request of Domenic's court appointed lawyer complaining that she took the parents with her in an unscheduled visit to Domenic at school. Domenic was not allowed to see his parents in this occasion.
November 2010: Christer takes Domenic home the 22nd of November (without permission) when they are supposed to have a supervised meeting. Domenic stays with his family over the weekend and then Christer phones the police and tells them where they are. Police appear (again) uniformed and armed and drags Domenic away even without letting him put his outside clothes on. Christer and a friend of his that helped to take Domenic home are charged and Christer spends some time in jail and goes through a psychiatric evaluation. That analysis, completed and submitted to the courts, found Christer to be psychologically sound. Christer requested representation by Trygve Emstedt (a lawyer), but is denied his request in direct defiance of Swedish and European Union laws. Christer sits in jail until 21th of January 2011 when he is finally released.
April 17th 2011: A case number is assigned by the European Court of Human Rights .
April 23rd/27th 2011 (?): Meeting between the Johanssons and the Social Service to respond to inquiries regarding Domenic's deteriorating health. The social services insists that the actions of the parents are to blame for his health issues.
May 2011: The petition to the ECHR concludes, "Insofar as has been communicated to the family through official court orders, Domenic is to remain in the custody of the Swedish officials on what appears to be a de facto permanent basis."
September 2011: Proposal to remove legal custody from the parents.
by Christer Johansson
I've read the Discrimination Law, the Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention, the Swedish Government Third Wave of Implementation of Human Rights and I have no other option but to conclude that our family is being gravely discriminated against by the Social Service on Gotland.
My name is Christer Johansson and I am the father of a bright, beautiful boy that has been broken into millions of pieces by the Social Services in Gotland Kommun. As perhaps you know, Domenic was taken from us in 2009 as we were on our way to India. This happened after a year of harassment and disputes over our right to educate Domenic at home. Once they took Domenic from us, we started a process of hearings and appeals to determine if we were fit parents and if Domenic was to live with us or with a foster family.
What follows is an account of some of the miscarriages of justice and blunt discrimination with which the Social Services approached our case from the very beginning. The social workers presented reports based on inventions and untruthful statements and they were not challenged by the lawyers that were supposed to defend us. Pure gossip was elevated to the status of science while sound statements by psychologists and doctors on the mental and physical health of the family were dismissed.
Just as an example, the Social Board asked the social workers at the beginning of the process about the grounds for taking custody from the parents and placing Domenic in foster care. Social worker Caroline Palmqvist stated that it was "on account of Christer's mental health." This was the first time any of us heard that my mental health was an issue. On no occasion before the moment they took my son from me had anybody within the system mention this. Now, I have proved twice and with sound reports from experts, that I do not have a mental health problem. I did suffer the trauma of suffering an earthquake and a robbery that almost took my life and took everything I had. That is different than having a mental disorder.
When mental health could not be pressed harder as a reason for justifying taking my son from me, they accused me of being a drug addict. I said, “Let me go and test myself.” Now in Sweden, to go and test yourself a Social Worker has to make the request. In this case it was the responsibility of Sofie Rosenquist to make such request. She did not do it, and she did not do it repeatedly forcing me to plea with the laboratory in charge of the testing to do it anyway. They did and it came back clean. I sent the results to Sofie Rosenquist who later on testified that I had not taken the test. Despite my complaints nobody in the court system followed up on her statement or on the laboratory.
All of a sudden I ceased being an issue and they focused on the fact that Domenic had been educated at home. It did not seem to matter that we won the case regarding homeschooling before Domenic was taken from us. It did not seem to matter that we have, in fact, registered Domenic in public school in Havdhem. It did not seem to matter that I was also invited to work there as I have been working as a teacher for many years.
The social service did not accept that. Instead, they registered Domenic in a different school far away from us. This together with the draconian rules for visitation of our own son which included not taking pictures, not speaking about the case, not bringing food with us, especially not Indian food, and not bringing gifts, is a carefully designed plan to force isolation and it goes against the law.
To further complicate matters, once my mental health or supposed drug use could no longer be established, they decided to discuss Annie’s mental health. Now Annie has never been examined for any kind of psychological issue. All comments regarding her mental health were made by social workers with no training in the field. These social workers took upon themselves to elaborate a scientific explanation for what they deemed "inappropriate grieving" after being forcefully separated from her only son. Social workers declared that Annie did not know what was best for her son and such a comment stood in court as evidence that she in fact did not know how to care for Domenic. It did not matter that Domenic was healthy for 7 years and that he was an intelligent well adjusted kid. They examined him for everything, his physical health and his intellectual and emotional development. They found nothing and now we are denied access to these reports by the Gotland Social Services.
While all this is taking place in court, we were still having very short visits every 5 weeks and at the time of his 8th birthday we were told that Domenic did not want to see us. We were told once we have arrived to the center, with my mother and father hoping for a nice celebration. There was no communication between the Social Services and us and no discussion on Domenic’s reasons. We had to turn around and go home, devastated. I have never seen my father so unhappy and disappointed. On the next occasion we saw Domenic I asked him about this and he denied having said that he did not want to see us. He was very sad and disconcerted. I confronted Sofie Rosenqvist and Caroline Palmqvist and demanded an explanation and their response was that Domenic had a better life now and that they have already made the decision of keeping us apart.
In this same conversation I brought up the issue of my supposed mental health problems and the fact that I had proof of not having any to which they first replied that they could not comment but then went on saying that I have a “personality disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.” To add to their gruesome picture of me and my family, they commented upon the "distressing fact" that Domenic tends to hug other kids when he is happy and how such conduct is evidence of a deviant tendency that needs to be corrected.
New hearings in court kept bringing up new questions about my mental health and now it was this assumption of me having Asperger’s Syndrome. This was again denied by the reports after exhaustive examination and yet the lawyer Rickard Ploman continued in court to call me mentally ill and that I have a personality disorder. He has done that every time in every hearing. He is the lawyer appointed to me by the court. Now, why would my own lawyer continue referring to my mental health knowing first, that it is not true, and second, that it damages my chances of winning the case? I leave that question open because I truly do not have an answer.
The character assassination continued with reports on our house, the lack of furniture and a certain degree of messiness on the second floor. It is not noted, however, that we were at that point planning to move back to India and that we were in the process of selling all our furniture and doing some renovations before closing the house definitely.
Before I go, we have done everything we were asked to do in order to proof that we are fit parents while social services have proven shown that we are not. We have made every effort to show the circumstances of our family and the importance of us staying together after suffering two very traumatic experiences. Professor Trevor Archer, Swedish expert in Trauma, testified in our behalf and warned the court about the harm it will create to separate the family unit both for Domenic and for us.
Our future is in your hands, especially Domenic's. As Professor Archer said, Domenic can never heal from the trauma unless he comes home. And he was home for a few hours and he said to me “Daddy, what I fear the most is to go back to that family."
My son Domenic does not even cry when he hurts himself. He cannot cry anymore, which is more than enough proof that he is severely damaged him. The law is there to protect our family against violations such as this, but still after two years, the socials services continue to harm both Annie and me and Domenic. They have told him already, "You are going to stay here until your 16 years old." Domenic told me in November 2010. And now, they are telling us that they want to withdrawal full custody and give it to his foster family.
Christer Johansson
TIMELINE
Fall of 2008: The Johansson’s (Christer and Annie) contact the Ministry of Education and after being told that they could homeschool and start the process amidst the obstruction of local school officials. They make the decision of homeschooling base on their plans to move to India in a few months and consider that this will ease Domenic's (born 2002) transition and adjustment.
January 2009: After being fined and visited by social services on many occasions, Christer Johansson calls for meetings to discuss this matter, to no avail. The authorities decide that Domenic has to go to school.
February 11. 2009: The Child and education department orders the family to pay a fine of 250 SEK per day that Domenic is not at school. The Social Services intensify their pressure on the family. Homeschooling is still the only issue.
May 27th 2009: An action is taking to enforce the payment of the fine (Now 15.000 SKr). The court refused to enforce it because the school year is over - an implicit recognition of the right of the family to homeschool under the law at that time (it became illegal in July 2011). Christer Johansson informs the court of the family intention to move to India on June 26th. There is no court order or any other legal action taken to prevent the Johanssons from moving to India as was their plan.
June 25, 2009: Domenic and his parents are seated on the flight to India. Swedish police take Domenic from the plane. They alleged that there has been an anonymous report on the family (this has never been confirmed). The family cooperates. They are told that some social workers are going to talk to Domenic for a few minutes, they agree to let him go. The social worker takes Domenic from the airport. Annie collapses.
The Social Services agree to place Domenic with his uncle, Christer's brother, Mike. The parents are told that they will be able to have Domenic back the following Monday. When they go to pick him up, they are told that they have found two cavities, that Domenic seems to be extremely shy and not behaving like a normal kid of his age, and they consider this to be evidence that there is a developmental problem. From here on there is reference to Domenic's mental health. This time both Annie and Christer collapsed. Due to their physical and emotional reaction the social services decide to not allow them to see Domenic. They finally see Domenic 6 WEEKS later. In Christer's words "he (Domenic) was broken in small pieces"
August 4th, 2009: First hearing.
August 13th, 2009: The court upheld the decision of removal of physical custody without any medical or psychological report stating abuse or neglect.
The parents are not allowed to visit Domenic on his birthday and new conditions are imposed on the visits:
No toys- Domenic cannot receive any kind of gift from his parents and definitely nothing that he could take with him to his foster home.
No taking pictures or filming- therefore no evidence can be provided about the attitude of the Social Workers and their impediments to allow the family to bond.
No speaking about the case- there is no possibility for the parents to speak freely with Domenic, explain the situation and comfort him.
November 30th, 2009: Court of appeals upholds decision largely based on a psychiatric report of Domenic that suggests he was “developmentally delayed”. This report was performed after Domenic has been months separated from his parents with limited, closely supervised visits .
January 27th, 2010: Swedish Supreme Administrative Court denied the appeal exhausting the domestic appeals in this case and making it possible to present a petition on the family's behalf in European Court of Human Rights.
In Sweden, the system allows for a revision to see if the child should remain in State's custody or can go back to his family. This happens every 6 months more or less. These are some of the actions taken to that effect:
May 13th 2010: Johansson's Lawyer Ruby Harrold-Claesson (Nordic Committee for Human Rights) is dismissed by the court in Gotland upon request of Domenic's court appointed lawyer complaining that she took the parents with her in an unscheduled visit to Domenic at school. Domenic was not allowed to see his parents in this occasion.
November 2010: Christer takes Domenic home the 22nd of November (without permission) when they are supposed to have a supervised meeting. Domenic stays with his family over the weekend and then Christer phones the police and tells them where they are. Police appear (again) uniformed and armed and drags Domenic away even without letting him put his outside clothes on. Christer and a friend of his that helped to take Domenic home are charged and Christer spends some time in jail and goes through a psychiatric evaluation. That analysis, completed and submitted to the courts, found Christer to be psychologically sound. Christer requested representation by Trygve Emstedt (a lawyer), but is denied his request in direct defiance of Swedish and European Union laws. Christer sits in jail until 21th of January 2011 when he is finally released.
April 17th 2011: A case number is assigned by the European Court of Human Rights .
April 23rd/27th 2011 (?): Meeting between the Johanssons and the Social Service to respond to inquiries regarding Domenic's deteriorating health. The social services insists that the actions of the parents are to blame for his health issues.
May 2011: The petition to the ECHR concludes, "Insofar as has been communicated to the family through official court orders, Domenic is to remain in the custody of the Swedish officials on what appears to be a de facto permanent basis."
September 2011: Proposal to remove legal custody from the parents.
Nov 27, 2011
Christian Voice
Miscarriage of Justice Continues
in Johansson Case
The fate of Domenic Johansson is still uncertain following a court hearing on 11 May. A new hearing has been scheduled for the end of the month due to Christer being unable to attend the one on 11 May.
A few weeks after the hearing a verdict will be issued determining whether Domenic is allowed to return to his parents.
Humanly speaking, it is unlikely that the hearing will change the status quo. Such meetings have been occurring every six months since Domenic was first snatched from his parents two years ago by the Swedish Social Services. So far each of these hearings have culminated in a negative verdict.
Once Domenic has been in state custody for three years, the review hearings will end and Domenic can be put up for adoption.
Neither of the parents have...Read More
in Johansson Case
 |
| Domenic photographed by his father only weeks before the abduction. |
A few weeks after the hearing a verdict will be issued determining whether Domenic is allowed to return to his parents.
Humanly speaking, it is unlikely that the hearing will change the status quo. Such meetings have been occurring every six months since Domenic was first snatched from his parents two years ago by the Swedish Social Services. So far each of these hearings have culminated in a negative verdict.
Once Domenic has been in state custody for three years, the review hearings will end and Domenic can be put up for adoption.
Neither of the parents have...Read More
Nov 3, 2011
WND ARTICLE
Son taken from parents to be shipped overseas?
Dad reports social workers' talk has referenced Thailand
Posted: November 02, 2011
9:00 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND
WND reported only weeks ago that the social workers responsible for removing Domenic Johannson from his parents had called for a court hearing to consider moving custody permanently away from the family and to the government.
That word had come from officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which along with the Alliance Defense Fund already has elevated the dispute involving Christer and Annie Johannson and their son, Domenic, of Sweden to the European Court of Human Rights.
Domenic, now 9, has been in the custody of social services and in foster homes in Sweden since 2009, when as a 7-year-old he was snatched from a jetliner he and his parents had boarded to move to India, his mother's home country.
Oct 8, 2011
WND ARTICLE
THEIR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Posted: October 07, 2011
8:57 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND
Social services workers who had police snatch a 7-year-old boy from his parents while they were aboard a jetliner preparing to move to the mother's home country of India because he was being homeschooled have called for a court hearing where they apparently will seek to terminate the parents' rights completely.
That word has come from officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which along with the Alliance Defense Fund already has elevated the dispute involving Christer and Annie Johannson and their son, Domenic, of Sweden to the Europe Court of Human rights.
Find out why classes seem so different these days, in "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools"
Christer Johannson told WND by email this week that he got a letter from the court explaining social workers wished "to move custody of Domenic to the foster family."
Domenic, now 9, has been in the custody of social services, and in foster homes, in Sweden ever since 2009 when he was snatched from a jetliner he and his parents had boarded in order to move to India.
(Story continues below)
Michael Donnelly, director of international relations for the HSLDA, told WND, "The only way I can think of describing the way the Swedish social and judicial systems have treated the Johansson family is barbaric – the harm done to them is beyond comprehension.
"Their most basic of human rights have been....Read more: Social services threaten homeschooling parents http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=352733#ixzz1aCxCSg7t
Social services threaten homeschooling parents
Hearing to target family whose son taken by police
Posted: October 07, 2011
8:57 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND
 Annie and Domenic Johansson |
That word has come from officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which along with the Alliance Defense Fund already has elevated the dispute involving Christer and Annie Johannson and their son, Domenic, of Sweden to the Europe Court of Human rights.
Find out why classes seem so different these days, in "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools"
Christer Johannson told WND by email this week that he got a letter from the court explaining social workers wished "to move custody of Domenic to the foster family."
Domenic, now 9, has been in the custody of social services, and in foster homes, in Sweden ever since 2009 when he was snatched from a jetliner he and his parents had boarded in order to move to India.
(Story continues below)
Michael Donnelly, director of international relations for the HSLDA, told WND, "The only way I can think of describing the way the Swedish social and judicial systems have treated the Johansson family is barbaric – the harm done to them is beyond comprehension.
"Their most basic of human rights have been....Read more: Social services threaten homeschooling parents http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=352733#ixzz1aCxCSg7t
May 16, 2011
Sweden's Utopia
Sweden’s Big Government ‘Utopia’ Unmasked
The Kingdom of Sweden has been revered by supporters of big government around the world for decades, cited by statist college professors and policy makers everywhere. It started with the myth that its “socialist” system could simultaneously provide freedom, prosperity, and generous welfare benefits to all. But now, the illusion is beginning to crumble.
The Swedish government has become notorious worldwide in recent years: Its blatant and sometimes brutal suppression of...READ MORE.
May 11, 2011
New American: Appeal Draws Supporters
Appeal For “Kidnapped” Swedish Homeschooler Draws Supporters
As the now-infamous case of Swedish homeschooler Domenic Johansson (at left, with his parents) — seized by authorities because of homeschooling almost two years ago — continues to drag on through the judicial system, a group of the family’s supporters turned out at an appeal in Stockholm on May 11 to express their hope that the family would be reunited soon.
The story of the Johansson tragedy has caused an international uproar, attracting the involvement of numerous prominent human-rights groups in Sweden and around the world. At least hundreds of thousands of homeschooling activists, particularly in America, have been outraged by the case. And now, some Swedes...read more.
| Written by Alex Newman for The New American |
| Wednesday, 11 May 2011 14:42 |
The story of the Johansson tragedy has caused an international uproar, attracting the involvement of numerous prominent human-rights groups in Sweden and around the world. At least hundreds of thousands of homeschooling activists, particularly in America, have been outraged by the case. And now, some Swedes...read more.
Daniel Hammarberg's address: State of the Swedish Child Welfare
Below is a video compiled by Daniel Hammarberg, author of The Madhouse: A Critical Look at Swedish Society. As a teen, Mr. Hammarberg found himself an unwilling partaker of Swedish child welfare services. While all he wanted was to be left alone, social workers would forcibly involve themselves in his life over several years, even to the point of attempting to institutionalize him against his will. This experience left a lasting impression upon Hammarberg. Since then, he has endeavored to learn as much as possible about Sweden's child welfare laws, LVU, and other aspects of such laws that allow government workers much overreaching involvement in every aspect of one's personal life. While this video gives a detailed look at Sweden's child welfare state, Hammarberg's book provides a broader look at Swedish life under rapidly expanding social engineering laws and serves as a warning to Americans as we see our own government embracing more and more socialistic practices.
Visit Daniel Hammarberg's site.
Visit Daniel Hammarberg's site.
Apr 18, 2011
European Court Case Advances
NEWS OUTRAGE!
Posted: April 17, 2011Abducted homeschooler's case finally advances
Police took child from his parents only because of education at home
5:54 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
 Christer and Domenic Johansson |
It's been some nine months since family advocates pleaded with the European Court of Human Rights to look into the case of a Swedish child taken by police from his parents and isolated with government-sponsored foster parents because he was being homeschooled, and now a case number has been assigned.
The move in Domenic Johansson's case is significant, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association, because once a file number has been assigned, the case can begin to move forward.
The HSLDA had joined with the Alliance Defense Fund, an international civil and religious rights organization, to seek help from the ECHR.
"The ECHR is the Johanssons' only remaining recourse, since their case has been heard at every level of the Swedish court system," said Michael Donnelly, the HSLDA's director of international relations. "It was strange...
Read more: Abducted homeschooler's case finally advances http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=287609#ixzz1JsIgibJ0
Apr 17, 2011
Next LVU Court Hearing Set for May 11
 |
| Domenic, during his November 2010 time away from scocials and with his father. |
While the Swedish Family Court plans another hearing on the Domenic Johansson kidnapping case, many observers ask, "Why bother?"
Don't get me wrong. I believe the Johanssons should be in court fighting tooth and nail until their son has been rightfully restored to them, and I will support them to the best of my ability until that day finally arrives. As far as I am concerned, they've never had a real court trial in this case. Instead, these dear, gentle people have stood tried and convicted as guilty since June 25th, 2009, months before ever setting foot into an LVU court room.
As far as close observers of this case are concerned, the Johanssons have never been before a legitimate court. Every "trial" this innocent family has suffered since armed Swedish police swept onto an India bound jetliner and abducted their son, has been nothing more than what a Kangaroo Court of justice can deliver. Harsh words? Yes. Unwarranted? A resounding NO! Consider the following questions:
- In what court, in this day and age, is it considered justice to deny the accused their choice of legal counsel, and the chance to offer witnesses and testimony supporting their claim of innocence?
- In what court is justice served when a sitting judge is presented written testimony as evidence from doctors and psychiatrists stating the mental health of the accused to be sound, yet this same judge ignores the expert testimony and instead accepts as gospel truth the testimony of child welfare workers, who are neither doctors nor psychiatrists, but who "diagnose" the defendant as having a narcissistic personality disorder?
- In what court is justice served when Eva Ernston, who is paid by the state of Sweden to "represent" Domenic's interests in court, publicly and indiscriminately boasts to friends and strangers alike, that "Domenic is better off without his weird father"? So much for keeping secret the reason Gotland Social Services has destroyed a family. According to Ernston, it is because Christer Johansson is, in her own words, "weird."
- In what court is justice served when Domenic's foster mother tells little Domenic that he will stay with her regardless of what the judge decides, essentially telling the little boy she will break the law, if she has to, to keep him with her?
- In what court is justice served when this same foster mother tells child welfare workers what she told Domenic: that she will not give him back to his parents no matter what the court decides; and upon hearing this declaration, rather than reprimand, correct or otherwise protect Domenic from a foster mother untrustworthy enough to break the law rather than relinquish a child not hers to keep in the first place, the child welfare workers put in an official Gotland Social Services document, word for word what the foster mother told Domenic, then send this document to the Johanssons to further demoralize them?
Folks, the only courts in which I am aware such perverted justice is practiced is in the kangaroo courts of the Swedish LVU system. And of what crime are the Johanssons guilty? Surely, for so much trouble and distress, they must have beat or otherwise abused or neglected their son and surely all of this abuse and neglect has been documented in the three court cases the LVU system has already entertained on behalf of the Johanssons....
In fact, no. There is no such case.
Instead, in court documents the Johanssons are accused of home schooling their son at a time when home schooling was still a legal option in Sweden. It is for this reason alone Gotland Social Services employed armed police to charge onto an airplane, upon which this family were passengers on the last leg of their journey back to India, where Christer and Annie were married and where Annie had always lived until a few months prior to Domenic’s birth.
After Gotland Social Services abducted the boy from the plane, they conducted a fishing expedition hoping to find more cause to keep Domenic. Their findings? Incomplete vaccinations (parents have the right to delay or deny vaccinations in Sweden) and a cavity in one of Domenic’s baby teeth. It was at this point that Domenic should have been immediately returned to his parents.
Not so, however. As is customary in many LVU cases in Sweden, it was time to pull out all the stops rather than admit Gotland Social Services acted erroneously on Domenic Johansson’s behalf. Parental character assassination is always the remaining weapon in the working toolbox of Gotland Social Services and apparently it is also their deadliest. The first accusations against the Johanssons is that Christer Johansson is a narcissist. This is not an official diagnosis. It is simply the opinion of the social workers. Even so, if narcissism is reason enough to destroy a parent/child relationship, I can think of hundreds of Hollywood celebrities whose children should be removed immediately. Next, he is accused of being overly obsessed with health, health foods and healthy living. Apparently health gurus should have their children forcibly removed as well? Next is the accusation that Christer Johansson is obsessed with human rights. After what his family has been through, who wouldn’t be? Even so, as Eva Ernston has so aptly deduced from all of Gotland Social Service’s findings, Christer Johansson is obviously “weird,” thus Domenic is much “better off without his weird father!”
Looking at Annie, who is a very soft spoken, loving, kind and gentle person, Gotland Social services found it more difficult to assassinate her character. Therefore, rather than attack her directly, they simply suggest to the court that Annie lives in the shadow of her husband. Yes, this is Annie’s crime. This is why Annie had her then 7 year old son ripped from her loving arms.
While all of these character “flaws” are enumerated in court records against the Johanssons, even more concerning is what is missing from court records. The court records fail to mention Christer’s accomplishments in music and the visual arts. They also fail to mention the very close and loving relationship Domenic and Christer enjoyed before Gotland Social Services disrupted it. They fail to mention how Christer was nurturing a love for animals and nature in Domenic. They fail to mention how Christer was passing on to his son a passion for capturing the beauty of the Swedish landscape in photographs, teaching him the art as they went on photo shooting expeditions, sharing these experiences side-by-side.
As for Annie, the court records fail to mention the fact that Annie holds a Master’s Degree in English, and that Domenic was fluent in both Swedish and English on the day he was taken. Ironically, Annie is more qualified to educate Domenic than the average Swedish classroom teacher. However, the court record fails to mention such things.
As for Annie, the court records fail to mention the fact that Annie holds a Master’s Degree in English, and that Domenic was fluent in both Swedish and English on the day he was taken. Ironically, Annie is more qualified to educate Domenic than the average Swedish classroom teacher. However, the court record fails to mention such things.
And so we ask, what can we expect from yet another court hearing within Sweden’s LVU walls of justice? Can we expect more of the same or will truth and justice finally be served in the now notorious case regarding the custody of Domenic Johansson? Will the Johanssons be allowed to bring in the defense attorney of their choosing? Will the judge act independent of the child welfare workers, allowing the Johanssons to have their entire and complete defense heard and fairly weighed?
PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING:
As this next court date fast approaches, please consider donating to the Johanssons. A donation button is located at the upper right of the Friends blog. If you decide you'd like to donate and you do not read Swedish, there is a little drop-down menu on the upper right of the Paypal page (where you go after pressing the yellow Donate button) that gives you the option to translate the page to the language of your choice. Thank you for you support!
Feb 4, 2011
Feb 3, 2011
LifeSiteNews
Pro-family group puts pressure on European Court over notorious homeschooling case
 |
| Christer, Domenic, Annie |
The AFR, a Christian pro-life and family advocacy group based in Bucharest, is calling for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to move forward in the case, noting that lawyers representing the Johannson family filed a complaint against the Swedish government six months ago. The AFR lobbies for the rights of parents, including the right to home school, at the international level.
In a letter addressed to the ECHR, the AFR said...READ MORE
Jan 22, 2011
WND: Father Set Free
Father jailed for visit with son set free
'Released today, after 2 terrible months!'
Posted: January 22, 2011
12:40 am Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
A Swedish father who was jailed by authorities for taking his son, in state custody because social services workers worried he was being homeschooled, home for a visit has been released from his incarceration.
Word came to WND tonight via an e-mail from Christer Johansson, who said, "I was released from jail today, after 2 terrible months! … When the judge read the verdict, he said...
Word came to WND tonight via an e-mail from Christer Johansson, who said, "I was released from jail today, after 2 terrible months! … When the judge read the verdict, he said...
Read more: Father jailed for visit with son set free http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=254093#ixzz1BmSJfFYS
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