Galery

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Maria S. Topalova
    Today at twelve o’clock, the local court in Larissa will consider the case for the custody of the "blond angel", Maria, who was found last October in a Roma family in a camp near the town of Farsala. Then the district prosecutor decided to place the girl in temporary custody of "The Smile of the Child" foundation. Her fake adopters Eleftheria Dimopoulou and Christos Silas were arrested on charges of kidnapping and document fraud. Now Eleftheria is in the women's wing of Korydallos prison and Silas in prison in Larissa.
    The Roma family had repeatedly submitted requests to be released from prison, but the court had repeatedly rejected them. At the same time, the family had filed a lawsuit to be legally entitled to become guardians of the child, and in January 2014, the Bulgarian state had intervened in the case through its embassy in Athens.
    Since DNA testing has proved that Maria is the biological daughter of Sasha and Atanas Rusevi from the town of Nikolaevo near Stara Zagora, Bulgaria wants the Bulgarian institutions to decide on the fate of the child instead of the Greek court. However, the child is a Greek citizen by documents. So far, the biological parents of the "blond angel" have not expressed a desire to regain their parental rights.
    Today the Bulgarian party and the defenders of the Roma family will present before the court arguments in favour of their thesis and will be entitled to submit additional documents to their advantage by twelve o’clock on Friday. The court will probably decide on the case next week.
    Meanwhile, the little enchantress who has won the sympathy of global media suspects nothing at her new home at "The Smile of the Child" foundation. The court has required an expert opinion of her condition, which is undertkan ​​by a social worker and psychologist. "The expert opinion is strictly confidential and I cannot reveal any details of it. It will be presented to the court and will be included in the case file," press secretary of the foundation Panagiotis Pardalis states for GRReporter.
    The child has no idea that she may be required to change her home again. She is calm, she is developing well and already has friends in her new environment. The foundation specifies that no one from the Bulgarian side has called to obtain information on her condition whereas child psychiatrists state that if the 4-year-old girl has to change her environment and home again, this will cause her great stress.
    The decision of the court in Larissa is important not only for the fate of blond Maria. It will be used as a reference in deciding on similar litigation. Let us recall that about a month after the news of the "blond angel" another Bulgarian child was found in a Roma family that was not her biological one, namely 4 -year-old Christina from Thessaloniki, who has been placed in the temporary custody of "The Smile of the Child" as well. Just 10 days ago, 11-month-old Sonia was found in her alleged Roma family from Katerini. And according to lawyers, the fact that Eleftheria Dimopoulou had "supplied" the Roma with the infant only aggravates her guilt, reducing her chances of being entitled to become the legal guardian of the "blond angel" Maria.