Moscow’s Basmanny Court on Monday refused to issue an arrest warrant for Michael and Nanette Craver, the U.S. adoptive parents of a Russian child who died of injuries in 2009, thereby backing the position of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.
A Pennsylvania court ruled on November 18 that the Cravers, found guilty of the involuntarily manslaughter of their adopted Russian son, Ivan, must serve from 16 months to four years. Since they had already spent about 18 months in jail, they were released immediately.
The Russian Investigative Committee deemed the U.S. verdict too lenient and on November 21 put the couple on the international wanted list. Investigators also appealed to the Moscow Basmanny Court to put the Cravers behind bars.
However, a spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Monday that Russia’s criminal prosecution of the U.S. couple is illegal. He said the guilty verdict has already been brought in and a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime.
“In line with the law, they are not subject to criminal prosecution in Russia,” he said, adding that “putting the Cravers on the international wanted list is illegal as there is no proof that they are hiding from the Russian side or may continue criminal activity.”
Seven-year-old Nathaniel Craver (Ivan Skorobogatov) died in August 2009 at a hospital in Pennsylvania. Doctors said the boy died of injuries and malnutrition. They discovered more than 80 injuries on his body, including 20 on his head.
The Cravers were arrested in February 2010 and denied all the charges brought against them, saying the boy suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and attachment disorders. The couple's defense said his injuries were self-inflicted.
Prosecutors demanded the death sentence for the couple. The jury however found them partially guilty, dismissing the charges of the deliberate murder of the boy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed the sentence, calling it “flagrant irresponsibility” of the U.S. judicial system.
Since 1991, a total of 17 adopted Russian children have died worldwide as a result of beatings or negligence, according to official Russian statistics.
