Eight-year-old Romanian orphan taken by force to be sent for adoption in US

A prosecutor of Craiova Court of Appeal took by force an eight-year-old girl that was given to adoption to a family of Romanians established in the United States.

The event stirred strong emotions as the prosecutor was accompanied by special Police forces -- a situation that put again under fire the law enforcement officers frequently criticized since their intervention (they were gendarmes) against protesters last summer. Interior minister Carmen Dan stressed it was not a law enforcement officer who took the girl by force.

Legally, the situation of the girl is roughly straightforward as explained by the labor ministry in a release: no Romanian couple, out of the 120 Romanian families lining up for adoption, accepted to adopt her. The social worker taking care of her during the past seven years declined herself adopting the girl as well. Furthermore, the social worker lost her contract with the social services and was no longer in a position to hold the girl. There was only the couple established in the US accepting her.

A lawyer quoted by Adevarul daily explains that it is quite unusual for a prosecutor to get involved in such procedures and there should have been sent a specialized executor to take notice of the girl’s ties with the maternal social worker and ask for professional advice.

(Photo source: Facebook/Uniti pentru Sorina)