The mother of a nine-month-old girl unlawfully taken to Russia by her father has left for the neighbouring country to meet with her daughter, the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) has confirmed to BNS.
“The mother is being given all the necessary assistance to meet her child,” the cente said, without giving any more details about her trip to Russia.
Lithuania’s law-enforcement bodies have launched a pre-trial investigation into the suspected child abduction by the girl’s father, Algirdas Švanys. The girl’s mother, who has the custody, complained to the Klaipeda district police on August 27 that Švanys had taken their daughter and failed to return her at the agreed time.
The man, 37, is believed to have taken his daughter to Russia’s Kaliningrad. He took a boat and crossed the Skirvytė River, which marks the state border between Lithuania and Russia.
Švanys and his daughter are currently on Russian territory, according to information available to Lithuania’s authorities.
Russia refuses to hand the child and the man over to Lithuania, saying that he holds both Russian and Lithuanian passports.
A Lithuanian court last Friday issued an arrest warrant for the man on suspicions of child abduction and illegal crossing of the state border.
The State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service confirmed to BNS on Monday that “correspondence with the Russian authorities continues” as part of efforts to return the girl to Lithuania.
Further reading
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
