Russian Investigative Committee says always fights child abuse
MOSCOW. June 1 (Interfax) - Russia's Investigative Committee has credited itself with always standing up against child abuse.
"If parents drink, beat their own or adopted children, forget them in locked cars, we react. If neighbors or school don't notice this, they will be called to account for negligence and indifference. If guardianship authorities break the law and annul parental rights without any good reason, we will interfere. If the orphanage system in Russia needs urgent help in putting it in order, we help it. And if the legal system of the United States breeds irresponsibility on behalf of adoptive parents, we won't stay silent either," Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said in an interview with Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda published in Saturday's issue of the paper.
The Committee's intervention in instances of abuse of Russian children adopted by Americans would ultimately benefit the United States, he argued. "Who if not us will be able to directly tell them the truth in a friendly but principled way?" he said.
"By the way, just our heightened attention to the life of our children abroad and acute public and governmental reactions serve to reduce risks for children. We bring it home to everyone, including the Americans, that there is somebody who can protect Russian children, and Russian citizens in general," Markin said.
"We react to such crimes because since January 1, 2012, all crimes against minors without exception have come under the jurisdiction of the Investigative Committee of Russia. Moreover, if foreigners commit crimes against our fellow citizens outside Russia, they are prosecutable under our Criminal Code," he said.