Posted: Sun Dec 11 2011, 16:50 hrs Moscow:

Russia’s ombudsman for child rights, Pavel Astakhov, said on Saturday he did not rule out that a moratorium for adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens may be imposed.

“It is not ruled out that after the joint activities with the Prosecutor-General’s office, the Foreign Ministry and the Education Ministry we will propose to impose a temporary moratorium on adoption of our children and their transportation to America until the concluded agreement is ratified,” he said after the meeting with Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika. (more…)

Ibrahim Jaffa Condeh
16 November 2011

Freetown — Parents of 29 children reportedly trafficked years back by the Help A Needy Child International HANCI have vent their dissatisfaction with the Justice Adeliza Shower’s Commission of Inquiry set up by President Ernest Koroma to look into their matter and are planning to demonstrate later this month.

“…we the parents have decided to stage a protest on the 28th, 29th and the 30th of November 2011 in diverse locations: State House, America Embassy, The British High Commission and the ERSG (UNIPSIL) in a bid to vent our dismay,” a protest letter from the parents stated. (more…)

Special prosecutor Lorena Maldonado said the sentences handed down to a lawyer and the legal representative of an adoption agency will reinforce the birth mother’s bid to get her daughter returned from the United States.

“Even though the criminal proceedings are separate from the adoption process, these sentences help, and confirm the argument of the mother, Loyda Rodriguez, that this girl is her daughter and was stolen from in front of her house, and that there is a criminal structure in Guatemala that steals children,” said Maldonado. (more…)

published: October 20, 2011

Chances are the boy is unaware of the battery of lawyers debating his future. He’s probably oblivious to the national immigration debates he has stirred, the newspaper headlines he has generated, the two school-district employees whose firings are directly linked to his circumstances. He very likely has no idea that the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington, D.C., is in his corner, or that a lone circuit court judge will decide his fate this winter. (more…)

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lawsuit against a Tennessee family that sent an adopted young boy back to Russia has been scheduled for trial early next year.

A motions hearing scheduled for Oct. 27, however, could end the litigation, according to the Shelbyville Times-Gazette (http://bit.ly/mQ8IZY ).

The York County Court, Pennsylvania, has opened court proceedings on the case of Michael and Nanette Craver. They are accused of killing their adopted son from Russia Vanya Skorobogatov who was adopted by them in 2003. His death was caused by brain injury on August 24th, 2009.

Tue, Aug 30 09:50 AM EDT
SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – Moscow is not fully satisfied with the suspended sentence given to a U.S. woman who poured spicy sauce into the mouth of her adopted Russian-born son, a Kremlin official said Tuesday.

Alaska mother Jessica Beagley was sentenced Monday after she was seen on a television program punishing her seven-year-old son by making him swallow hot sauce and stand in a cold shower.

The case sparked anger in Russia, where there is growing concern about reports of abuse of children adopted from that country.

U.S. municipal prosecutors filed the charge against Beagley after homemade video of her discipline methods aired on the “Dr. Phil” show, a pop psychology program last year.

Beagley was given a suspended 180-day sentence Monday after being convicted of misdemeanor child abuse.

An Alaska judge also placed her on three years’ probation and ordered her to continue counseling. (more…)