The drama about a single father and his daughter in Russia, who were separated because of a child’s drawing against the Ukraine offensive, enters the next sad round: a day before a Russian court on Thursday ruled on the final deprivation of custody of the now two-year prisoner convicted 54-year-old should decide, it became known that his daughter Maria was placed in the care of her mother. The two had not seen each other for years.
The case of Alexey Moskalyov and his 13-year-old daughter Maria from the small town of Yefremov, 300 kilometers south of Moscow, also made international headlines. Also in Russia, an online petition calling for Maria’s return to her father received more than 145,000 signatures despite government repression in the country.
After the girl made a drawing at school of a woman and a child with a Ukrainian flag being threatened by rockets, the authorities got involved.
They found critical internet comments on Maria’s father. The girl was then placed in a home, and her father was sentenced to two years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian army. Moskalyov escaped from house arrest before the hearing, but was caught in Belarus two days later.
On the eve of the crucial court hearing on the further fate of the father and daughter, the authorities announced that Maria’s mother Olga Sitchikhina suddenly appeared again and took the child with her.
“Let’s hope that mother and daughter are doing well,” said controversial children’s rights commissioner Maria Lwowa-Belowa on Telegram. “Masha did not want to see her mother at first,” wrote Lvova-Belova. “But she’s changed her mind, she told me that herself on the phone,” she added. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Lvowa-Belova on charges of kidnapping Ukrainian children.
Alexey Moskalyov has not been seen since his arrest in Belarus. The civil rights organization OWD-Info published a short letter from the 54-year-old to his daughter on Thursday, which was forwarded by his lawyer.
On the hastily scribbled note, Moskalyov asks his “Maschenka” to hold out – there are people “who are looking for ways to help you”. She should agree if relatives wanted to apply for custody of her. “It’s better than being in an orphanage.” Then he writes to his daughter: “If you are taken to court, ask for your dad. Ask the judge emphatically.”
Last week, Maria wrote her father a heartbreaking letter: “Dad, you are my hero,” it said. “I love you very much, you are innocent, I will always be by your side.” Everything will be fine, the 13-year-old continued: “I know that you will not give in, you are strong, we are strong”.
