The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Kyrgyzstan Saved Two Young Children from Death
The story attracted the attention of not only local but also Russian media. However, for some reason, in many cases, it was embellished with chilling details. Reports claimed that the children were allegedly forced to flee from gypsies who had bought them from their stepfather for organs, or that they were being pursued by some mafia... However, the reality turned out to be far more terrifying – human indifference. Not a single state service or passerby inquired why a teenager and a small child were begging on the street.
- We received a letter from the children's neighbors requesting our involvement in their fate, as the Russian children were left without parental care. Their mother had died, their father had disappeared, and the boy and girl were left on the street. Neighbors took them in. The boy's condition was extremely serious; he needed immediate help. We went out for the children together with local police officers. We took Anya and Timofey and initially placed them at our embassy, then at a center we oversee, where they were examined by medical professionals. Psychologists also began working with them there, - reported IA Vice-Consul of the Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan Anastasia ANTONOVA. - We then started to investigate the presence of relatives and the children's citizenship. It turned out that the girl was born in Russia and had Russian citizenship, while her brother had no identification documents at all! After numerous inquiries, it was revealed that he was indeed born in Kyrgyzstan, but his mother left the maternity hospital with the newborn without any paperwork. We issued a birth certificate for the child, in which we had to leave the "father" field blank, and granted him Russian citizenship. At the same time, we were working on locating the children's maternal relatives. It turned out that there were relatives in Novosibirsk and Germany. As soon as Timofey's condition improved, we took the children to the Novosibirsk region, where their deceased mother was registered. There, they were placed in an orphanage, where psychologists continue to work with them. Lawyers are exploring the possibility of adopting the brother and sister by one of the relatives' families.
However, legal formalities are currently hindering this process.
- The girl's birth certificate lists a father. According to the neighbors, he refused the child at the time of her birth. We are currently working on locating him; he must write an official refusal of his daughter, after which the court will terminate his parental rights. Only after that can the child be adopted. According to the laws of the Russian Federation, it is not allowed to separate a brother and sister, - emphasized the diplomat. The investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Novosibirsk region have initiated a criminal case based on the results of a preliminary investigation regarding media reports of the torture and sale of children, under the signs of crimes provided for by subparagraphs "a" and "g" of part 2 of Article 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (torture) and subparagraphs "a" and "b" of part 2 of Article 127.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (human trafficking). The future of Anna and Timofey is being monitored by the governor of the region, Vladimir Gorodetsky. The children's rights commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation, Pavel Astakhov, is also keeping an eye on the situation.
- Today, we discussed the situation from the perspective of their family placement in several agencies. There are several relatives who are claiming guardianship. They visit them and express a desire to adopt. I believe that the children will be fine, - assured Astakhov to journalists at a press conference. - We just don’t fully realize what terrible consequences this situation could have had if the employees of the Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan had not intervened in time. It is a very frightening story. There are often all sorts of tales about children being sold for organs and so on. But this is a specific situation where they were just one step away from something irreparable happening to them.
