New legal developments in Denmark have revealed that a 57-year-old man was sentenced to three years in prison after sending his three daughters to what is known as “re-education travel” to Somalia, according to DR.
The term “re-educational travel” or genopdragelsesrejser in the Danish context refers to some families sending their children, often to their country of origin, with the aim of preserving the culture, language, and religion or raising the children according to the values on which the parents were raised. However, the Danish authorities consider these trips to be stays that may be harmful to the child if they take place against his or her wishes or negatively affect his health, education, or development, and therefore they are considered against the law in such cases.
See also | Denmark opens a center to combat the culture of honor among immigrants
Details of the court ruling in Aarhus
The Aarhus District Court (Retten i Aarhus) issued its ruling in the case, with the panel of judges unanimously agreeing on the decision. The presiding judge stated, "We are in agreement on this decision." The court also noted that it found the girls' testimonies "reliable and consistent.".
The court explained that it took into account several factors when issuing the ruling, including the seriousness of the case, the length of the stay, the fact that the children are minors, in addition to the negative consequences that resulted from the trip, as one of the girls is still in Somalia to this day, according to the DR website.
Additional conviction on charges of violence and threats
The conviction was not limited to sending the girls abroad; it also included the father committing acts of violence against them, as well as making threats against his eldest daughter. Despite this, the man denied all the charges against him throughout the proceedings.
The accused, through his lawyer, announced his intention to appeal the verdict issued against him.
DR reported that it refrained from publishing the name of the convicted man, out of respect for the privacy of the three children.
Two daughters return, while the third remains in Somalia.
The data showed that the two older daughters returned to Denmark in February of this year with the help of Danish authorities, after their father was detained in connection with the case. The younger daughter, however, remains in Somalia.
The girls' testimonies reveal details of the journey
The two older daughters gave their testimony during the trial, explaining that in the summer of 2022 they believed they would be traveling to Kenya and then to England to visit their grandmother, but upon arriving in Kenya they were taken to Somalia, where their lives changed drastically.
“He told us we would never come home,” one of the girls told the court. “He took our phones, so we couldn’t contact home.”.
The testimonies also revealed that they were subjected to violence during a stay that lasted more than three years, with one of the girls stating: “Our father would yell at us all the time for the most trivial reasons. We were beaten at times. Sometimes he would beat us for things we did when we were little.”.
The statements included that the father used various means of abuse, such as wires, water hoses, or any available tools.
The father's defense justifies the trip.
For his part, the father denied any violence, stating in court that he sent his daughters to Somalia to learn the Quran and the Somali language, believing that this could be achieved better there.
Rare but ongoing cases
This case is one of the few that has reached a court ruling since the criminalization of sending children to overseas residences that may pose a risk to their health or development.
According to a 2026 report by the VIVE Foundation, an average of about one case per year is recorded related to travel for re-education.
The report noted that girls are sent on these trips more often than boys, and that the most common destinations include Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria.
Increased reports about this phenomenon
The National Center for Combating Honor-Related Conflicts (Nationalt Center Mod Æresrelaterede Konflikter) stated that its security advisory team received approximately 55 new reports during 2025 concerning children and young people who had been sent on such trips or forced stays abroad.
The center also received 174 additional reports concerning children and young people within Denmark who were at risk of being sent abroad for similar purposes, according to the source.
.
