A father who sought refuge after escaping from Sweden to Poland with his three daughters will be allowed to remain in Poland, a Warsaw court decided on Wednesday.

Danis Lisov, a Russian immigrant to Sweden, arrived in Warsaw earlier this week. During the airport control, it was discovered that his three daughters are considered abducted by Sweden’s authorities. The man decided on his course of action after his children were placed in a foster family by Swedish child welfare services. According to media reports, his final destination was Moscow.



“The court cannot send the minors to Sweden which they entered under their father’s care,” said judge Żaneta Seliga-Kaczmarek. “Following the father’s hearing and due to the lack of proof confirming restriction of parental rights, as well as having in mind the minor’s well-being, they court has decided that they should remain in their father’s care.”



The court has also issued a restriction order on the father. He is now obliged to remain in Poland until he is granted refugee status.



According to media reports, the 12, 6, and 4 year old lived with their parents in Sweden for years. The Swedish child welfare services began to investigate the family when the mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in a treatment facility. Two years ago, it was decided that the children should be placed in a foster family, 400 kilometres from their parent’s home. The father was not deprived of parental rights but the time he could see his daughters was limited to six hours a week.



According to the family’s attorney, the fact that the children were placed in a Muslim family of Lebanese origin despite being raised in a Christian faith was also an important factor in Mr Lisov’s decision to escape Sweden.