MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - The adoptive parents, accused of strangling a 5-year-old Russian boy in Italy, twice reported the boy’s well-being and quick adaptation to his adoptive family, Russia’s Children’s Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said.
“He was adopted in 2012, all the adoption procedures took place in Blagoveshchensk orphanage in April-May, at that time he was 2 years old,” Astakhov said in a statement published on his website.
“Over this time, the Italian parents twice sent the reports on the kid’s life – in 2013 and in early 2014. According to the reports, the boy adapted well, was doing fine, was learning the language and attended dancing classes,” Astakhov said.
In the reports, the adoptive father also added that he was very proud of his Russian son. According to Astakhov, Italy is the top foreign country adopting children from Russia. Last year, Italian families adopted more than 700 Russian children.
Astakhov also asked Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to supervise the investigation personally.
Last week, Italian media reported the death of a 5-year-old boy from Blagoveshchensk, strangled by his adoptive father. Police of the Italian city of Pescara detained 47-year-old Italian citizen Massimo Maravalle in connection with the case. The reports say Maravalle, the boy's adoptive father, was on medication for psychological problems. However, when the adoption was processed, this fact was omitted.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case citing negligence committed over the course of processing adoption documents for the boy. The investigation will assess the actions of officials who denied custody to the boy’s relatives and processed requests of Russian families who wanted to adopt the kid.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Rome are monitoring the situation.
