Pole who sold disabled daughter arrested in Austria

A Polish man sentenced in 2009 for selling his disabled daughter has been arrested in Austria, police have confirmed.



The father identified as Robert B. originally disappeared together with his two-year-old daughter Monika in 1994.  He was later found in Austria, without his child, and was tried in 2009 in Legnica, south west Poland.

Although Monika B. was never found, the district court in Legnica was convinced that the child had been sold, and handed down a 15-year-sentence.

Despite appeals by Robert B.'s lawyers, both an appeal court and Poland's Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

Meanwhile, the defendant vanished once again, and an European Arrest Warrant was issued.

Following his rearrest, police in Legnica have stated that they are waiting for a ruling by an Austrian court concerning prospective extradition back to Poland.

(nh)