HRC members asked for the release of an accomplice in a child trafficking case

Mother of many children is in pre-trial detention center

Members of the Human Rights Council Eva Merkacheva and Irina Borovova sent an appeal to the Moscow City Court with a petition to change the preventive measure for Natalya Patoke. A mother of many children and the organizer of a center for victims of domestic violence is in custody on charges of complicity in child trafficking.

Human rights activists note that Patoka has several minor children, the youngest is 1.5 years old. After the woman’s arrest, all of them are under the guardianship of their father, but, according to Nikolai Patoka, they always ask about their mother, and they painfully endure her absence. “It’s difficult for them to explain why mom doesn’t cook, doesn’t read books, doesn’t tell fairy tales,” the father added. His adult children help him, but there is no one to replace the children’s mother. In this regard, members of the HRC ask the court to change the measure of restraint for Patoka from detention to house arrest. The consideration of the complaint will take place in the Moscow City Court on Thursday.

Natalya Patoka is involved in a child trafficking case as an accomplice of mother of many children, Yulia Loginova. According to investigators, Loginova bought children from strangers and then passed them off as her own – either born personally or with the help of surrogate mothers. Some transactions took place in Patoka’s house, which is why she was detained.