The underage daughter of Aleksey Moskalev, a resident of the Tula region, who was sentenced to two years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian army, could be transferred to a “surrogate family”, because her relatives do not are not ready to support her. This was stated by the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child under the Presidency of Russia Maria Lvova-Belova in press conferences at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to her, the girl’s mother did not take her – she promised to come several times, but she never did, she does not maintain contact with her daughter.
“Now it is important for us that the child is brought up in a family. I met with blood relatives, but so far the parents refuse to take Masha, perhaps because of the resonance of the situation and because they did not really communicate with the child. But we have several candidates for the replacement family position,” Lvova-Belova said.
In the near future, the court will consider the case of the restriction of parental rights of the schoolgirl’s mother and father, she said.
The children’s ombudsman promised to ensure that the girl who, after her father’s conviction, is in the social rehabilitation center in Efremov, does not stay in a social institution.
In the meantime
Tula activist Elena Agafonova informed publication “7×7” that on April 5 he will go to the guardianship authorities to request guardianship of the daughter of Alexei Moskalev. According to the woman, she met this family in 2022 after resonating with the girl’s anti-war drawing. Then the schoolgirl’s father turned to the People’s Council of the Tula region, of which Agafonova is a representative.
Elena has five children of her own. The woman said that Moskalev’s daughter was involved in equestrian sports with her children. At the same time, the activist is not sure that she will be allowed to take the girl under guardianship.
Family situation
At the end of March, Lvova-Belova said that at the beginning of the month she went to Efremov to clarify the situation with Moskalev’s daughter and “protect her right to be brought up in a family”.
“We consulted with the governor, the prosecutor, representatives of all relevant departments. Even before that, they requested information from the regional commission of inquiry, the commission for juvenile affairs, the regional ombudsman for children,” the ombudsman said.
According to her, many media, when covering the Moskalev case, give a “simplified image”, in which they portray a man as a victim “for his daughter’s anti-war cartoon”. Lvova-Belova argues that “criminal and civil cases are not directly related”.
The Children’s Ombudsman recalled that a year ago Moskalev was fined for “public actions aimed at discrediting the Russian armed forces”, but after that he “continued illegal activities on the networks social”, which is why he became a defendant in a criminal case.
“During the investigation, he escaped. He was detained, for violating his travel ban, by court order, he was placed under house arrest and banned from communicating with everyone, including Masha. I read the court decision: neither the defendant nor the lawyer objected to the chosen restraint measure, ”said Lvova-Belova.
According to her, since May 2022, the Moskalevs have been registered as a family in a “socially dangerous situation”, after which the preventive authorities filed a lawsuit demanding that the mother and father of the girl be limited in their rights. parental, including due to the fact that Andrey Moskalev “has repeatedly been brought to administrative responsibility for improper performance of parental duties”.
Lvova-Belova said that since February 2022, the girl began to skip school, and in April she stopped going there at all, and her father allegedly refused to contact teachers and showed aggressiveness.
“As for my mother, she practically did not participate in the life of Masha. Now the girl remains in the SRTSN at her request. The relationship between them is complex. We told the preventive authorities about additional ways out of the situation. On our recommendation, they intensified the search for a close circle, tried to transfer the girl to her relatives. There were relatives on the father’s side, but so far they refused to take Masha in police custody,” the ombudsman said.
At the same time, the girl’s mother, Olga Sitchikhina, who lives with her husband and 17-year-old daughter in the Tambov region, works as a security guard and goes to work in Moscow, declared “7×7” about the intention to remove the child from the shelter. According to her, the social workers checked the conditions of her accommodation and were satisfied.
“I plan to stay at home, and my husband and my brother will work, no one will sit without money. I have a large garden: I know that in winter there will be twists and turns, meat. In the village we have no work as such, and the town is 25 km from us. Buses run every other day, so I can’t find work in town,” the woman said.
The girl’s mother claimed that her ex-husband, who was distinguished by a tough character, forbade her to communicate with her daughter. When Moskalev was under house arrest, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children paid for a call to SRTSN from a child psychologist who spoke with the girl and came to the conclusion that she missed her father and wanted to be with him, Lvova-Belova said.
“However, just on the eve of the audience, the pope himself fled the country. Probably on the advice of “helpers” who deliberately stir up this situation for the purpose of anti-Russian propaganda, involving the child as a means to achieve their goals. Violating the law once again, the father is making the child’s already difficult situation worse,” shared his findings.
The meeting on the restriction of parental rights in the criminal prosecution of Moskalev will take place on April 6, Lvova-Belova said. In any case, she assures, the young girl will not be left “in an institution” without the care of her relatives. “She started studying again, communicating with her peers, psychologists are working with her. Masha is safe,” assured the children’s ombudsman.
Persecution of Moskalev and his daughter
Security forces became interested in Alexei Moskalev after his daughter, whom he is raising alone, in April 2022 drew an anti-war drawing during a school art class – it depicted Russian flags and Ukrainians with the inscriptions “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine” respectively, as well as a woman with a child, in which rockets fly from the side of the Russian flag.
After that, the girl was removed from classes, then FSB agents came to the school and had a conversation with her. After that, she stopped going to school, but soon an administrative protocol was drawn up against her father to “discredit” the army because of comments to Odnoklassniki and a fine of 32,000 rubles.
“You are the hero. My hero”. Publication of a letter from a schoolgirl whose father was sentenced to two years for “discrediting” the army
In December 2022, a criminal case was opened against Moskalev for “discrediting” Russian troops, searches were carried out and his daughter was taken to a social institution. The day after the interrogation, he took the girl from the shelter and left Efremov. However, on March 1, 2023, Moskalev was detained in the Tula region, and on March 2, the court placed him under house arrest. The man’s daughter was again placed in a social rehabilitation center and refused to be released, despite the fact that Moskalev was placed under house arrest.
Moskalev’s verdict
On March 28, the Efremovskiy district court of the Tula region sentenced Aleksey Moskalev to two years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian army. The sentence was read in the absence of the accused, since he did not appear at the hearing. Court spokeswoman Olga Dyachuk said Moskalev escaped house arrest.
‘In this case, the court will not decide’: HRC discussed options for development of Moskalev case
Soon, former Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova, who also escaped house arrest in 2022 before the trial for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, wrote on her Telegram channel that Moskalev was “between in good hands, everything will be fine for him. ”
However, on March 30, the man was arrested in Minsk by local law enforcement officers at the request of Russian colleagues. The Belarusian Interior Ministry confirmed that Moskalev’s detention was carried out at the official request of the Russian side.
As the human rights project OVD-Info* reported on April 4, it is not yet known where Aleksey Moskalev is in Minsk after his arrest.
Lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, who remained in contact with the man, told OVD-Info that on the night of March 30, Moskalev was “dragged, taken in an unknown direction”, almost a week later. has since passed, but there is no news of him.
OVD-Info* also does not know the location of Moskalev’s daughter. “Lawyer Bilienko was not allowed to meet (Aleksey’s daughter): during his last visit, she allegedly took part in an outdoor cooking competition,” the project says.
