Anton Salonen incident

Anton Salonen (Russian: Антон Салонен; born 3 October 2003)[1] is a child with Russian-Finnish dual citizenship involved in an international child custody dispute between his parents.[2][3] The Finnish-born child was first abducted by his Estonian Russian mother in 2008 and taken to Russia. In turn the boy was abducted by his father in 2009 and smuggled back to Finland with the help of Finnish diplomats stationed at the Finnish consulate in Saint Petersburg.[4] The incident has sparked a diplomatic row between Finland and Russia.[5][6] The Finnish diplomat who helped to abduct the child was dismissed from the Finnish Consulate and Russia has declared him persona non grata.[7]

  1. ^ Vladimir Shishlin (22 May 2009). Финский поворот (in Russian). Interfax. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  2. ^ "NOOTTIUHKA! – Anton pojan pitkä piina". Ilta-Sanomat (112): 2–3. 16 May 2009.
  3. ^ Irina Titova (19 May 2009). "Diplomatic Spat Over Boy Taken To Finland". St. Petersburg Times. 37 (1475): TOP STORIES. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  4. ^ Tapio Pessi (15 May 2009). "Konsulaatin työntekijä auttoi Anton-pojan salakuljetuksessa". Aamulehti. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Boy's fate sparks Russia-Finland dispute". eTaiwan News. Associated Press. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  6. ^ "Child abduction case prompts ministerial-level altercation between Finland and Russia". Helsingin Sanomat, International Edition. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  7. ^ Russia declares persona non-grata Finnish boy-smuggling diplomat