Afghan Woman May Seek Damages After Long Separation From Children

An Afghan woman who was arrested and separated from her children for about a month under false pretenses may now be seeking damages from a media source who reported on the matter, and possibly also from Child Protective Services, RÚV reports.

Police in Hafnarfjörður arrested the woman in early November under suspicion of not being the biological mother of five Afghan children in her household. At the same time, the children were taken into custody of Child Protective Services, and placed with foster parents.

Police asked for genetic testing to be done to determine whether or not she was the mother of these children. They have since confirmed for RÚV that the results confirmed beyond any doubt that she is the childrens’ biological mother, and they were returned to her on December 3.

Flosi H. Sigurðsson, a lawyer for the woman, says that she is now considering filing a complaint with the Data Protection Authority, due to identifying information she says was published in news outlet Vísir’s reporting on the matter, and may also seek damages from them. She may also register a complaint with Child Protective Services due to their handling of the case.

No reporting on the matter has yet brought to light what prompted the police to make the arrest and separation of the woman’s children from her in the first place.