An original translation by Tania Groth with many thanks!

Source: Berlingske.Dk

The author and blogger Jaleh Tavakoli is charged with sharing the execution video from Morocco: Now Social Services have determined that they will remove her 8-year-old foster child

Jaleh Tavakoli has been formally charged for sharing the video that shows the brutal execution of one of the two women who were killed during a holiday in Morocco. This is why Social Services have chosen to remove Jaleh Tavakoli’s and her husband’s eight-year-old foster child.

The author and blogger Jaleh Tavakoli and her husband received a letter in the husband’s e-box, which, they themselves say, sent the couple into a state of shock.

They had to read the electronic letter five times before they could completely comprehend its contents.

“Your approval as a family of care will cease,” the 2.5-page A4 letter from Social Services reads, explaining why Jaleh Tavakoli and her husband are no longer fit to have their eight-year-old foster child in their care.

“We could not believe it or take it seriously. It was a shock for us. It was really difficult reading,” says Jaleh Tavakoli.

The letter states that on Thursday the 7th Social Services became aware, through the press, that Jaleh Tavakoli had been charged with a violation of section 264 d, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code for sharing a video from the social media site Reddit, which shows the death of Danish Louisa Vesterager Jespersen in Morocco in December 2018. Information that both the authorities and Jaleh herself have confirmed.

Social Services have assessed that Jaleh Tavakoli and her husband do not have the necessary quality to have children in care, as they have had in the last eight years.

“As an approved family, it is a special task to take care of children with special needs, so there may not be any significant question about the morals or ethics of the family,” one reads in the letter.

A poor role-model

Social Services cite as reasons that it could be problematic for the foster child that Jaleh Tavakoli has been charged with “a serious crime” after Tavakoli shared the video, and also her participation in the public debate.

“It’s a discussion and a consideration that a child does not enjoy being involved in — and by your making it public you are forcing your foster child into the discussion. When your face and your opinions are clearly shown on, for example, Danmarks Radio [TV channel] and on other media, it cannot be avoided that the foster child’s friends, parents and others become aware of this. It is our opinion that you are putting your foster child into a serious situation as the child’s loyalty to you and the egregiousness of the act for which you are charged are incompatible,” can additionally be read in the letter.

Furthermore, one can read that Tavakoli’s behavior on social media can cause “serious doubts in a child about how one acts in the digital world,” and that Tavakoli is not acting as a digital role-model for her foster child.

On top of Tavakoli’s political engagement in the public debate, they consider it an aggravating circumstance that she has shared a video that, according to the Authority, “can create doubts about your (Tavakoli’s) judgment in relation to your role as an acceptable foster family.”

A further aggravating circumstance is that the family already lives at a protected address because of threats and harassment, and that Tavakoli, despite this fact, continues with “a massive public exposure, including the sharing of the video in question, which can be traced back to you and ultimately your foster child.” These facts are considered incompatible with the responsibility of foster care,” the letter reads.

In the public interest

Jaleh Tavakoli has not yet been to court for sharing the video, and she explains that she found the link to the video of the killing on the social media site “Reddit”, and found the link to the video on the media Newsspeak, which she then shared on one of her Facebook-profiles. According to her own statement, she posted it without watching and only watched it later.

She know however that it was a video of the murder, as that was clear from the Newsspeak article.

“I hate watching this type of material, and I hate sharing stuff like this as well. However, for me, it was in the public interest. I felt compelled to share it because I have, on several different occasions, been referred to a conspiracy theorist. There was something in the video, that we had not been informed of by the public Danish media. We knew that the women were found decapitated, but otherwise there was no description of the acts.” says Jaleh Tavakoli, pointing out that Danish media “also show similar material in various formats that can also be said to exhibit people in difficult situations.”

“I don’t understand the difference. I did not imagine that I would violate any law or that it would have any consequences. Other similar images of the Holocaust and the Vietnam War have also been shown to document what has happened,” she says.

Jaleh Tavakoli hopes that “the responsible politicians in the City of Copenhagen, in Parliament, and also the Minister of Social Affairs, will go into the matter to safeguard our child’s security and continuity of upbringing.”