TEHRAN - In a strongly worded letter to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kazem Gharib Abadi, Secretary of the High Council for Human Rights, has called for the immediate repatriation of an autistic Iranian child from Denmark.

The child's parents, who were residing in Denmark, are now back in Iran. However, the Danish government has failed to cooperate in returning the child to his family.

"The main question is that now that the parents of this child are in Iran and are no longer present in Denmark, why is the Danish government avoiding fulfilling its obligations to return this sick child to his parents?" Gharib Abadi wrote.

The letter highlights the extensive efforts undertaken by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Iranian Embassy in Denmark, to resolve the situation. Despite these efforts, the Danish government has been uncooperative, making the child’s family anxious about the well-being of their beloved son. 

Gharib Abadi urged the Foreign Ministry to hold the Danish government accountable for its failure to fulfill its obligations under international law. He also emphasized that the Iranian government is prepared to take further steps, including transferring the child's guardianship to the State Welfare Organization of Iran.

Dariush Heidari, born in 2016, has been separated from his parents for over 4 years. The Danish Government took Dariush away after municipal workers dispatched to the family’s home to observe the residence’s walls at their request, determined that the young boy was not at the ideal “height and weight”. The workers had no medical expertise or knowledge of Daruish’s age, ethnicity, or illness. 

The parents of Dariush say they were all moved to a family center after the visit, where their rights and privacy were routinely violated. A short while later, Dariush was separated from his parents under suspicions of child neglect and child abuse, for which the government provided no substantial evidence.  

“Denmark has violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the case of Dariush, there is no abusive behavior or failure of the parents to maintain or raise the child, and even the laws of Denmark have not been observed in this case,” the mother explained in a previous interview with Iranian media. 

According to the Nordic country’s law, Dariush is not considered to be a Danish citizen, as his parents never obtained Denmark’s citizenship.