WARSAW, April 3. /TASS/. Polish border guards have detained Russian citizen Denis Lisov and his three children, whom he earlier took from a foster family in Sweden, a counselor of the Russian Embassy in Poland, Vladislav Vybornov, has told TASS.
"The family was detained in a Warsaw airport on Monday while trying to board an Aeroflot flight to Moscow," he said, adding that Lisov and his three children aged twelve, six and four arrived to Poland on a ferry from Sweden.
They spent the past 24 hours in a police station. No food was given to them, Vybornov said.
"A court will take place to decide what happens next. We have assigned a priority status to this case," the Russian diplomat said.
The family will get services from two Polish lawyers. The Polish authorities and the Brussels-based office of the Ombudsperson for children were informed about the matter.
According to Vybornov, Sweden put the children on an international wanted list.
"It was initially planned to hand over the children to the Swedish side and to release their father. However, he has not been deprived of parental rights, so separating them would be inadmissible," the diplomat added.
The Polish court is now to decide on whether the children should be sent back to Sweden or released together with their father. The Swedish authorities have filed no charges against the father.
The Lisovs family moved to Sweden from Khabarovsk in 2012. They sought to obtain a residence permit and applied for social benefits. When Lisov’s wife became gravely ill and was hospitalized in 2014, the family attracted the attention of Swedish juvenile welfare authorities. In 2017, the children were taken from their father and handed over to a foster family of a Lebanese origin. Their case is handled by the Russian Consulate General in Goteborg.