FIND BERNARD

Find BERNARD, 2 year old Polish boy taken away to Russia

I am the father of a beloved 2-year-old boy born in Poland, named Bernard.

Bernard Zastawny, born on 22 may 2022

Father: Marcin Zastawny (that’s me below with Bernard)

Mother: Lidia Mukhamadeeva

Bernard has a very strong connection with me and the rest of the family, we spent a lot of time playing in the backyard or park and doing all the things that little kids have the right to do – which is play and discover the surrounding world.

Play, education and getting through illnesses, was all a part of our time together.

Unfortunately, Bernard has been taken away from me and the rest of his family (grandparents, brother, sister), transported from Poland to Russia against my will and against the rulings of the Polish court.

This was executed by Bernard’s mother, Russian born (but also a Polish citizen, dual citizenship) Lidia Mukhamadeeva, disregarding the principle of shared parental responsibility.

The local Police, who are cooperating with the Poland/Wroclaw (city) Criminal Department, together with Border Police, are investigating how, Lidia, the mother of Bernard, managed to take him away to Russia despite him not having a Polish passport.

I am waiting for this to be taken over by Interpol (international police).

Whether he was taken without documents or whether she had Russian documents issued for Bernard (which I did NOT allow for because of suspicion that Lidia might want to take him away) remains to be investigated. In any case, his being taken away was not fully legal (against court rulings and any documents issued were done without my consent)

I have been in legal proceedings with Lidia, since September 2022.

In every court case, the court rulings have been in my favor – to have equal parental rights and to NOT issue Bernard a passport.

Bernard being taken away is not just a violation of my rights as a father, but also a breach of Bernard’s rights to have a beautiful relationship with both of his parents and the breach of rights of the rest of the family – his grandparents and older brother and sister.

Bernard’s case is not an isolated incident. There are approximately 800 cases of international child abduction in Europe each year, where a child is wrongfully relocated by an intimate partner, usually a parent.

I do realise that the case of Bernard is a small one in the eyes of the world, its only a big issue for me and the family and for Bernard.

I am not making this political, but could argue that if we want to solve BIG things (like international conflicts involving Russia, Poland amongst others), we should be able to solve small things.

Poland is a signatory of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which obliges the return of a child internationally removed by a parent from one member country to another. Russia, too, should respect these international norms and support the return of Bernard to his home in Poland.

With your support, we can raise awareness and create necessary pressures to secure the return of Bernard. The impact of international child abduction deeply scars the affected family members and the abducted child. Let’s uphold justice for Bernard and all children who are unfairly torn away from their homes.

Anyone can help, but your input will be specially beneficial if:

• you know a legal counsellor inside Russia or elsewhere, that can help
• you know people in the Police force inside Russia or elsewhere, that can help
• you know people working for a detective agency inside Russia or elsewhere, that can help.
• you know people with political connections, that can help
• you know Lidia or you have seen her (last whereabouts are Vladivostok / Владивосток, Russia). Her first instagram post from Russia, screenshot below, most probably was taken in a Multifunctional Center / Многофункциональный центр in a city of Nahodka / Находка, East of Vladivistok.

If you know how to help, PLEASE contact me (info [at] findbernard.org)

Also please segn the petition here: https://change.org/find-bernard

The petition will be helpful in our fight to regain contact with our beloved son, brother and grandson Bernard.

We all want him back, the entire family. Even if this petition only means that Lidia will start to accept video calls so that we can see our beloved Bernard and he can see his family here in Poland, this will be of great importance.

Bernard , I and our entire family, thank you for your support.

This petition is available in English: https://www.change.org/find-bernard
Ta petycja jest dostępna w języku Polskim: https://www.change.org/szukam-bernarda
Эта петиция доступна на русском языке: https://www.change.org/naydi-bernarda
Twitter: https://x.com/findbernard_org