It was in October that two underage girls disappeared from their first home in Halland. They had been secretly placed there by Älmhult municipality because they risked being subjected to honour oppression and marriage.
The girls' mother, who had already left Sweden before the abduction, said last winter that they were in Turkey. Even then, Älmhult municipality could have requested help from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Turkish authorities – but this was never done, SVT's review shows.
Hague convention
The countries that are parties to the Hague Convention, such as Sweden and Turkey, have common regulations for resolving situations with abducted children.
– If an abduction was unlawful based on the legislation of the country in which the child lived immediately before the abduction, the child should, according to the main rule, be returned, the Foreign Ministry's press service to SVT.
If Älmhult municipality requested assistance under the Hague Convention, both Swedish and Turkish authorities could look for the children and take the case to Turkish court, through a local legal representative.
"Don't make a statement"
But no application has been submitted, for any of the children – why does the municipality not want to answer.
"We cannot comment on individual cases due to confidentiality," says Magnus Källström, Head of Communications in Älmhult.
The girls' father is currently charged with taking the youngest girl out of the country. A verdict is expected on June 9.
CLIP: The abducted girls – this has happened
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The girls' parents waged a persistent battle against Social Services to get their children back – who in turn raised the alarm about violence. Photo: SVT/Storyblocks