The tragic death of 4-month-old Oskar moved all of Poland a while ago. The Ordo Iuris Institute represents his mother, and through our efforts, we have already begun restoring justice. But what does it matter that his mother Magdalena is now out of prison, if nothing can bring back her son’s life?
She was handcuffed at her own son’s funeral. She couldn’t even wipe away her tears…
Shocking photos and footage from the funeral of Oskar, less than 4 months old, spread throughout Poland. They showed the infant’s mother, clad in prison attire and shackled at the wrists and ankles, standing at her child’s funeral.
She had no way to wipe away the tears of despair that fell over the coffin of her tiny son…
The video and images quickly circulated on social media, where the inhumane treatment by uniformed officers was widely condemned.
A Tragedy That Could Have Been Prevented
When the footage reached us at Ordo Iuris, we immediately sought to contact the mother. Thanks to one internet user, we managed to reach her. It quickly became clear that the public humiliation she suffered at the funeral was only the surface of a deeper injustice.
Upon speaking with Oskar’s incarcerated mother, we learned she was not a dangerous criminal, despite the impression the funeral footage might give. Magdalena had been separated from her two children—3-year-old Lena and 4-month-old Oskar—and imprisoned for a minor online fraud offense related to e-commerce. While we do not excuse the crime, even the sentencing court had not recommended jail time. Magdalena received the lightest possible punishment under Article 286 of the Penal Code: a fine and community service.
However, when the sentence was issued, she was in late pregnancy. Because she failed to appear for community service, authorities decided to jail her—ignoring the fact that, by then, her newborn was only 4 months old.
When the police officers came to Magdalena’s home, they found her with her two children and their great-grandmother, who helped care for them.
“I’ll never forget that day,” the great-grandmother said in an interview with the Polish daily Fakt. “The officers asked for IDs and birth certificates. I begged to stay with the children, but they told me I was too old to manage. I said my daughter would come to help, but no one listened.”
Soon, 3-year-old Lena was sent to an orphanage, and 4-month-old Oskar to an unrelated foster family. Four days later, tragedy struck.
The foster father found the baby not breathing. He reportedly attempted CPR before emergency services arrived. Despite an hour-long resuscitation attempt, the child could not be saved.
Days later, Magdalena was transported to the funeral under armed guard, treated like a dangerous criminal in handcuffs and prison uniform. She wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye—she was brought in only after the coffin was closed.
Magdalena still doesn’t know where her daughter Lena is.
Magdalena Can Count on Our Help
From the start, we knew she needed to be included in our free legal aid program.
This tragedy could have been prevented if she’d received proper legal support from the beginning. Polish law allows mothers of young children to serve sentences in special mother-and-child facilities at select prisons. Magdalena was unaware—no one had told her.
Now, with help from Ordo Iuris lawyers, we’ve moved quickly. We attended the penitentiary commission meeting regarding her request to serve her sentence under electronic monitoring. The request was granted.
Magdalena is free. But her son is gone.
We Demand Accountability
I will personally represent Magdalena in the criminal proceedings investigating the child’s death. She is formally recognized as a victim. We will pursue the truth about what happened and the conditions that led to Oskar’s death.
We are also fighting for the return of 3-year-old Lena. I’ve already filed a motion to revoke the court order that placed the children in foster care. Shockingly, I found that the order wasn’t even issued until four days after the children had already been removed—on the very day Oskar died.
We will also notify the prosecutor’s office about the possible crime of abuse of power under Article 231 of the Criminal Code. Additionally, we’ll pursue a complaint over Magdalena’s inhumane treatment at the funeral. Although the deadline for such complaints has passed, I will request its restoration and formally challenge the use of full restraints.
Children Taken from Parents for Being Overweight? Ordo Iuris Defends Families
Magdalena’s case consumes much of my attention, but other lawyers at the Ordo Iuris Litigation Intervention Center are handling many similar situations. Every year, we receive dozens of cases involving children at risk of unjustified removal from their families. Not all are covered in the media, but every one of these families receives free legal assistance.
We’ve recently had success in Pruszków, where the court upheld parental rights for a single mother of three after anonymous complaints from neighbors.
Some cases are of an international nature. For example, the German Mori family’s children were returned home after being placed in foster care by the German Jugendamt child protection services. When the family vacationed in Poland, their German lawyer warned them that the court had issued an order for the children’s removal. Polish authorities transferred the children to foster care. The family contacted us, and in May this year, the District Court in Gdańsk sided with our legal team and revoked the order.
We are also assisting Monika, who fled to Poland with her daughters to avoid Norway’s Barnevernet child protection services. Their concerns? One girl was allegedly overweight, the children received private psychological care, and they retained Polish citizenship. Officials visited them several times a week, warning the girls they’d be separated from their mother. Without the mother’s knowledge, they even wrote directly to the children. Monika fled after Barnevernet initiated action via the Polish Ministry of Justice. With our help, the Wrocław court denied enforcement of the Norwegian order and allowed the children to remain in Poland.
Not every story has a happy ending, though. In the case of the Klaman family, our intervention came too late. Their children remain in Swedish foster care.
But many children have returned home. Many tragedies have been averted.
Magdalena was arrested over a month ago. She was released within 24 hours of contacting us.
This shows just how important our work is—and how vital it is for those facing injustice to know they can turn to Ordo Iuris.
Adv. Magdalena Majkowska
Member of the Ordo Iuris Board of Directors
Source of cover photo: Ordo Iuris
