Christer Johansson Denied

Human Rights Attorney, Again!

While he strives to defend himself for taking Domenic home for an unapproved visit with family late last month, Christer Johansson has yet again been denied representation by an attorney specializing in human rights. Astonishingly, the public defender assigned to Christer’s “criminal” case is Shantu Brambhat, the same attorney who has been representing Annie Johansson since 2009 in her fight to retrieve custody of Domenic from Gotland Social Services.

As you might imagine, Christer hasn’t much confidence in Attorney Brambhat’s ability to defend his best interests, nor the best interests of his family. Therefore, Christer has requested the representation of Human Rights Attorney Tryggve Emstedt of Gävle, Sweden. Not surprisingly, Gotland’s courts just today rejected Christer’s request for defense by Emstedt. Hence, Brambhat will be Christer’s defender whether she is capable of a worthy defense or not. It appears to us that Gotland desires no outsiders within her “halls of justice.” From what we understand, formal charges will be made against Christer on December 20th. We are not sure why his date before a Gotland judge continues to change.

We’ve also received word that Human Rights Attorney Ruby Harrold-Claesson, who is president of the Nordic Committee for Human Rights (NCHR) and represents the Johanssons in their appeal against Sweden to the European Courts of Human Rights, has finally been given permission to speak with Christer while he sits behind bars. Harrold-Claesson was removed from the Johansson’s Swedish case against Gotland Social Services last spring after Eva Ernstson, the court appointed “representative” for Domenic, complained to the courts about Harrold-Claesson’s involvement on the case.  Emstedt is also associated with the NCHR.

For those of you new to the Johansson family’s battle with Sweden, go here to learn how it all began.

For those who may not know, Christer is a very talented and avid photographer. His work stands as a testimony to his artistic eye and  sensitivity to beauty. Before Domenic was stolen from Annie and Christer’s care, they were cultivating within him a special appreciation for the natural things of this world. You can enjoy some of Christer’s photography work by visiting his archive here.

Below is a photo, snapped by Christer, of Domenic enjoying early spring flowers shortly before he was stolen by social services.