Christian Parents Take Sweden to European Court of Human Rights Over Child Removal
A Christian couple in Sweden has taken their case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) after their two eldest daughters were removed by social services and kept apart from the family for nearly three years. The parents argue that their regular church attendance and faith-based parenting decisions led authorities to label them as “religious extremists,” raising serious concerns about religious discrimination and state interference with family life.
In December 2022, Swedish child-protection services removed the two eldest daughters (aged 10 and 11) of Daniel and Bianca Samson, a Romanian-origin Christian couple living in Sweden. The removal followed an allegation of abuse made by one of the girls at school which she later retracted, saying her false report had been triggered by her parents' refusal to allow her a mobile phone and the use of makeup.
Prosecutors found no evidence of abuse or wrongdoing, yet Swedish authorities continued custody separation and did not return the girls despte their wish to be reunited with their famiy. Instead, authorities cited concerns about “religious extremism,” referring to the family’s frequent church attendance and the parents’ rules limiting their daughters’ use of mobile phones and make-up.
According to ADF International, the family has been allowed only very limited contact — one supervised visit per month — while the girls remain separated in foster care. The parents have completed a state-mandated parenting course, which confirmed their capacity to care for their children, but reunification has not occurred. The case, now pending before the ECtHR, claims that Sweden violated the parents’ rights to family life and religious freedom, as well as the prohibition of discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The parents’ decisions — regular church attendance and certain lifestyle boundaries for their daughters — were directly connected to their Christian faith. When the state interpreted those practices as signs of “religious extremism,” it blurred the line between legitimate parenting decisions and actual abuse.
Moreover, treating faith-based parenting as a risk factor allows the state to intrude into private family matters in ways that may be disproportionate and harmful: the prolonged separation of the Samson children — despite the absence of any proof of abuse and the parents’ compliance with state requirements — raises serious concerns about proportionality and the protection of family unity.
Source: ChristianToday; ADF International
Picture: ADF International