A family torn apart for their Christian faith
In Sweden, Daniel and Bianca Samson are living every parent’s worst nightmare. Their two eldest daughters were taken from them by child protection services after a false claim at school. Now, the Samsons are fighting to bring their girls home – and they need your help.
The beginning of their ordeal
In December 2022, Daniel and Bianca’s two eldest daughters, Sarah (11) and Tiana (10), were taken away by Swedish child protection services after the eldest, Sara, made a false report of abuse at school, sparked by a disagreement over having a mobile phone and wearing makeup. Although she later retracted the claim and the prosecutor found no evidence of abuse, the state pressed forward, treating the family’s ordinary Christian practices as supposed “religious extremism.”
Ignored and separated
Daniel and Bianca – Christians of Romanian origin who have lived in Sweden for nearly a decade – say the authorities have ignored the best interests of their daughters, refusing to reunite the family even after all allegations were dropped.
Instead, the girls have been kept apart from their parents for three long years, despite no evidence of harm in the home and despite the girls’ documented decline in physical and mental health while in foster care.
Since June 2023, Sara and Tiana have been moved through at least three separate foster placements and have been kept apart from each other. Both girls have repeatedly expressed their desire to return home, but their pleas have gone unanswered.
Daniel Samson
Father
“We are bringing this case to the European Court of Human Rights because all domestic remedies have failed to restore our parental rights,” Daniel Samson said. “We love our children. We trusted Sweden to protect them – and when the truth emerged, we expected our daughters to come home. Yet they remain away from us, and their mental health continues to deteriorate.”
A matter of parental rights
The case shines a spotlight on troubling delays, disproportionate actions, and potential discrimination against Christians in Sweden’s child welfare system. Authorities have even pointed to the family’s regular church attendance three times a week as evidence of “extremism,” even though this is simply an expression of their faith and a right protected under international human rights law.
Today, Daniel and Bianca are allowed just one brief, supervised visit with their daughters each month.
With the legal support of ADF International, the Samsons are fighting back. Their case is now before the European Court of Human Rights, where they seek justice, accountability, and above all, the right to bring their daughters home.
Will you help them?
This case strikes at the heart of every parent’s most fundamental right – the freedom to care for and protect one’s children. The Samsons are living every parent’s worst nightmare, having lost their children to the state for nearly three years.
Guillermo A. Morales Sancho
Legal Counsel for ADF International
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