Norway is at odds with over 100 legal luminaries and politicians from the US and around the world for taking custody of four of the five children of Bodnariu couple to protect them from their parents' "Bible-based parenting style."
Ruth and Marius were reported to have maltreated their children. The state child protection service, Barnevernet, interceded and took all five of them in November last year. Months later the government returned the youngest child to the couple without elaborating a reason.
A letter jointly signed by the lawyers and several members of the European Parliament has asked Prime Minister Ema Solberg to release the children back to their biological parents because it is "deeply disturbing" that the children's seizure was "motivated by the family's Christian faith."
"We find the facts of this international incident unacceptable not only on legal grounds but also on humanitarian and moral grounds. We view these transgressions as grievous breaches of domestic and international law," read the letter.
The inclusion of the family's Christian faith in the debate for the children's custody started to draw international attention.
The couple had admitted spanking their children as punishment whenever they made a big mistake, which is still illegal in Norway. As the case went on trial international protest started to snowball.
These lately tens of thousands demanded the children be returned. Last month over fifty marches took place around the world with activists accusing the Barnevernet of the unjustifiable act.
The letter said, Barnevernet's own documents attested the fact that the decision to remove the children from their parents was also partly based on their Christian faith.
It also said the agency's disapproval to the parenting style of the couple complimented to their conclusion.
