An eight-year-old girl at the centre of a controversial child custody battle said she doesn't agree with her parents that ethnic minorities should be killed, but that they should go back to their own countries, a Winnipeg courtroom heard.

On Friday, court heard a 40-minute videotaped interview the girl had with police hours after she had been seized by child welfare authorities.

Her mother and stepfather, who are accused of racist teachings and failing to provide adequate care for the girl and her brother, began a court battle for their children last week.

The girl showed the detective both her arms, which were covered in white supremacist markings from above her elbows down to her wrists. She told police the swastika, to her, was a sun wheel that represented peace and love, but she knew others saw it as a symbol of hate.

She said she also knew that the H.H. drawn on her arm meant "Heil Hitler."

When the detective asked what her parents thought of Hitler, she said they think he's a good man "for killing lots of people that didn’t belong there."

Recommended killing

The detectives asked her about what her parents thought about ethnic minorities. She said her parents thought "they should be killed or go back to their country."

Asked if she believed the same, the girl said: "Not kill, but they should go back to their country."

She also told police that "some people from Pakistan carry AIDS and they could kill you. Pakistan people have AIDS."

The siblings have been in the care of the girl's biological aunt, who is acting as their foster parent, since March 2008, when the girl showed up in school with a swastika on her arm.

Her teacher scrubbed it off in the afternoon, but the girl showed up the next day with another swastika, along with other white supremacist symbols, drawn on her body.

Caseworkers were alerted and picked up the girl at school and also took custody of the couple's two-year-old son.

The stepfather has filed a constitutional challenge, saying his right to freedom of expression; religion and association were violated when the children were apprehended.

He and the girl's mother no longer live together, and each has asked for custody of the children. The girl's mother is not living in Manitoba anymore and has not been in court.

Lawyers for the parents are scheduled to make their arguments later this month.