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🇩🇰 Denmark /Crime & Justice

Father sentenced to three years in prison for violent re-education of daughters

From Berlingske · (9m ago) Danish Critical tone

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • A 57-year-old father has been sentenced to three years in prison for sending his three daughters to Somalia for "re-education" in 2022, where the two eldest were subjected to physical abuse.
  • The girls, aged 7, 12, and 14 at the time, endured beatings with objects like a water hose and cord for errors in Quranic studies, with their phones confiscated to prevent contact with their mother.
  • The two elder daughters managed to escape after nearly three and a half years, with evidence of numerous scars found upon their return to Denmark; the youngest remains in Somalia, and the father plans to appeal the sentence.

A Danish court has handed down a three-year prison sentence to a 57-year-old father for his role in a disturbing case of "re-education" that subjected his three daughters to severe violence in Somalia. The court found the man guilty of sending the girls, then aged 7, 12, and 14, on a trip in the summer of 2022, which led to the two eldest enduring daily or every-other-day beatings.

If we made a mistake, or if we quoted incorrectly from the Quran, he would hit us.

— Eldest daughterTestifying in court about the abuse she and her sisters endured in Somalia.

According to the eldest daughter's testimony in court, the abuse occurred if they made mistakes in their Quranic studies or misquoted the Quran. The girls were reportedly beaten with a water hose, a cord, and a broom. Their phones were confiscated, effectively cutting off communication with their mother and siblings in Denmark. It was only in November 2024 that the eldest daughter managed to contact the Danish embassy in Ethiopia via an internet-accessible phone, pleading, "We can't take any more. We miss our freedom."

We can't take any more. We miss our freedom.

— Eldest daughterQuoted from an email sent to the Danish embassy in Ethiopia, detailing their distress.

The two elder daughters finally escaped in February 2026, after nearly three and a half years in Somalia, with the assistance of various authorities. Medical examinations revealed numerous scars on their bodies, consistent with the period they spent in Somalia. The father, who pleaded not guilty, claimed the trip was intended for the girls to learn the Quran and speak Somali, asserting he loved and protected his children. He denied any abuse. The youngest daughter, now 11, remains in Somalia. The father, visibly shaken by the verdict, has announced his intention to appeal the sentence to the high court.

I love my children more than anything in the world. I have always protected them.

— FatherStating his love for his children during his defense in court.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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