The son of the Russian citizen Inga Rantala will spend at least another 6 months in the orphanage, where he was taken by the social guardianship bodies of the city of Turku in Finland. The Finnish social service has decided to raise the issue of denying parental rights to Inga and her husband Villi-Pekka Rantala before court, which will take place in 6 to 7 months' time. And till the end of the trial the boy will be isolated from his family.
What the boy said - meaning that he could move for permanent residence to Russia - proved sufficient for the Finnish social workers for taking the boy away from the family. Besides, referring to the boy's words that his mother slapped him once, a criminal case was opened against Inga Rantala under the article of "petty beating". In Finland corporal punishment for children remains banned since 1984. And though there were no witnesses of that beating, which allegedly took place earlier and - the more so - he failed to undergo a medical examination, the guardianship bodies themselves delivered a verdict, which said: to separate the 7-year-old boy from the family. For nearly a month the boy's mother could not even call her son, and his father was admitted into the orphanage very seldom and only for a short while.
Thus, the rights of Inga Rantala were brazenly violated - the point is that according to the Finnish legislation even those who were arrested for grave crimes have the right to see their children, to say nothing of those under investigation. And the rights of little Robert, to whom the Convention on the Rights of the Child that was adopted by the UN General Assembly guarantees the right to meet with his parents, were trampled down too. Despite the fact that Finland, as well as Russia, has joined this Convention, Ombudsman for Children's Rights in Russia lawyer Pavel Astakhov says:
As we see in this case, the Finnish authorities are not fulfilling the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even taking into account the criminal case, which was opened against the mother, access rights should not be denied to her. Because the Convention says that a child should not be limited in communicating with his parents. Parental rights are not denied to them. And though the temporary measure of separating the child from his family has been introduced, efforts should be made to ensure parental rights to see their child".
The personnel of the Russian embassy in Finland has got actively involved in this case. The members of the Russian embassy personnel have hired a lawyer for Inga and are offering her legal and psychological support. It should be mentioned here that the Finnish side is rather unwillingly coming into contact with Russia's officials, forgetting that the boy has a dual citizenship. The answer to the inquiry of the Russian consul about the on-going developments in the criminal prosecution of Inga Rantala is yet to come. The Finnish colleague of the Ombudsman for Children's Rights in Russia Pavel Astakhov, Maria Kaisa Aula, has not answered his letter either. The Russian lawyer asked her to conduct an investigation into the circumstances, which triggered the separation of Robert from his family and promote his unification with his parents.
Hoping for justice from the Finnish legal system, the boy's father Finn Villi-Pekka said that he is determined to become a Russian citizen to be able to apply for help from Moscow. Thanks to the interference of the Russian diplomats, Inga was allowed to see her son. But only twice a week for 2 hours under the supervision of 6 social guardianship workers. They should speak Finnish only. The parents should come one at a time. Robert will have to live under such a regime for another 6 months at the minimum, till the trial is over.
The boy says that he feels bad in the orphanage and that he wants to return to his mother and to go to his school but the Finnish authorities are ignoring his words - as if it were that they know better where it is better for the child. Better as it seems to them, which means - without his mother and father, without his friends, without his favourite toys, and without his room. Now Robert does not go to his school. He does not visit the hockey section either. The social guardianship workers shrug their shoulders - the Finnish law does not say that children should practice their favourite sports.
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