Posts by B. Navickaitė appeared on the social network “Facebook,” in which she told her relatives and followers that the Child Rights Service decided to take her and P. Gražulis’s daughter and hand her over to guardians.
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According to B. Navickaitė, she decided to drink beer, so she found a “babysitter” to whom she paid 200 euros to soberly look after the girl. However, as Birutė said, this plan failed because the Child Rights Service was called, and the daughter was taken from the “babysitter,” while B. Navickaitė herself was found to have 2.4 per mille of intoxication.
Petras Gražulis returns from Brussels
The portal Žmonės.lt contacted P. Gražulis about the situation. The MEP confirmed that the daughter is indeed now handed over to guardians.
“I know she was handed over to guardians… Last night they found Birutė intoxicated… But this has been going on for a long time, it’s everyday life, although the Child Rights Service didn’t really believe it… And now I myself am getting into the car and going to the airport, I will return to Vilnius in the evening, and tomorrow at nine o’clock I will already be at the Palanga Child Rights Service, we will see what to do,” – P. Gražulis told Žmonės.lt.
Asked what he plans to do next and whether he will try to take his daughter to live with him, the MEP said the situation is complicated.
“If there was a proper mother, then let her grow up with the mother, but you see what is happening with that mother. So if it turns out, then the child will have to be taken, but it is very difficult because you cannot do it in one day. She goes to school in Palanga, so you need to find some guardian who would take care of her while I work in Brussels, who would take her to and from school.
It is not easy to change everything immediately like that. Secondly, the mother established the child before me. And the child rights do not always behave adequately all the time. In all situations, according to them, Birutė was always right, but this time the school said that a child definitely cannot live with such a mother, she causes harm, so only then did the Child Rights somehow pull themselves together a little. If the school had not started looking, the child would not have been found,” – said P. Gražulis.
The politician said that for now he does not know with which man his daughter was left.
“I don’t know… I tried to find out through acquaintances who that man is, but I failed,” he said.
For now, according to P. Gražulis, he has not yet been able to contact the girl.
“Now she has been taken and is in some social services center with guardians. I asked if I could talk to her, and they told me to write letters, requests, so that she could contact me. Well, such silly formalities. So being in Brussels, Strasbourg, what can I do?” – P. Gražulis complained.
Problems arise not for the first time
He said that he had not communicated with the daughter’s mother about this situation and recalled that problems due to child neglect have arisen more than once.
“This is not the first time she refuses the child, the procedure was already started. But during the trial, she said that I am changing my position, said she wanted to take the child herself, so the court satisfied her demands. Although there were really painful moments when she would push the little one out into the stairwell at night and say: ‘You will not live with me.’ The Child Rights Service then took her at night, but still said ‘Birutė behaves very well, is a very good mother,’” – P. Gražulis told Žmonės.lt.
According to the MEP, when he wanted to communicate with his daughter, he received accusations and slander from B. Navickaitė.
“She writes all kinds of slanderous letters, makes up everything, I don’t even want to say, it’s scary to tell those things… even the police told me: ‘Never take the daughter alone.’ So the last times I took her, there were four of us so that there would be witnesses… So how am I supposed to visit the child like that?” – P. Gražulis did not hide his frustration to Žmonės.lt.
The Child Rights Service also commented on the situation
The portal Žmonės.lt also contacted the Child Rights Service about this situation. Agnė Meškienė, senior advisor of the Klaipėda County Child Rights Protection Department of the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, agreed to comment on what happened.
“Cases such as possible inappropriate behavior towards a child, unmet child needs, or possible violence against a child are considered possible violations of child rights. However, each situation is individual, so child rights defenders must assess all circumstances in each case to find out how the child’s interests are ensured.
Upon receiving a report of a possible child rights violation, child rights defenders go to the child’s location and assess the situation – who is taking care of the child, whether the living environment meets the needs, whether the child’s safety is ensured, listen to the child if they can express themselves according to their age, and the parents’ opinions about the family situation.
This case is no exception. Upon receiving information about possibly violated child rights, child rights defenders immediately reacted – they went to the family’s residence, investigated the circumstances of the report, and tried to communicate with the child and her mother. They spoke by phone with the child’s father.
Considering the circumstances at the time and aiming to ensure the child’s safety and essential needs, a safe environment was provided for the child.
Child rights defenders are currently assessing the situation and all circumstances that may have affected the child’s safety and well-being. When assessing the situation, the child’s interests, physical and emotional safety, and the ability to ensure the child’s essential needs are primarily considered. The child’s well-being and safety are a priority in such situations. If necessary, the family will be provided with the necessary assistance, which will be provided by the Palanga City Social Services Center.
It is also important to remind that parents have the duty to properly care for their children, ensure their safety, supervision, education, and other necessary needs. In case of difficulties or inability to properly care for the child, it is important to timely seek help from specialists and cooperate with child rights defenders and social partners,” the comment reads.
On Thursday evening, the portal Žmonės.lt tried to contact B. Navickaitė, but was unable to reach her.
The well-known woman commented on the situation to the portal lnk.lt.
“Yesterday, with the babysitter, we decided to drink beer. We invited a person, the babysitter’s husband, to look after the child, we paid him. I always tend to invite someone in such cases so that we don’t party near the child. Then at night, the police with child rights took my child from a sober person. They took my daughter from the person hired to look after her and took her to guardians,” Birutė Navickaitė told the mentioned portal.
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