Renewed Calls for US Adoption Treaty Amid New Abuse Charges
"I express my grave concern about the situation - the fate of adopted Russian children in the United States - and call for intensified efforts for the early conclusion of a treaty on the regulation of adoptions between our two countries," the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Astakhov as saying.
US press reported last week that a trial of Edelwina and Steven Leschinsky is currently underway in Larimer County, Colorado. The spouses are charged with child abuse and four other related charges. They were arrested in March this year, but the news broke only recently.
According to reports, the US parents adopted three biological sisters from Russia. In January, school authorities notified police after one of the girls appeared in class with bruises.
Investigators soon discovered that the Leschinskys were subjecting their adoptive daughters to severe physical punishments that involved "literally hundreds of push-ups", marathons and beatings. Doctors said that one of the sisters suffered damage to her hand after her adoptive parents made her stand on her knuckles on a hard floor.
The Russian ombudsman called for "a just and severe punishment" for the US couple, who are due back in court on September 7.
Russian authorities ordered a moratorium on the adoption of Russian children by US parents in April this year, following a string of incidents in which adoptive parents had mistreated, tortured and even killed their children.
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