Russian adopted boy murdered by United States parents, Russian officials say
A protester holds a poster which reads, “Are orphans guilty of Magnitsky’s death? Stop putting shame on yourselves!” outside the lower house of Russia’s parliament on December 21, 2012, ahead of the debate on a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children.
After the death of a 3-year-old adopted Russian child in Texas last month, Russian officials have accused his Americans parents of murder and the US State Department of neglect.
The child, Max Shatto, died on January 21, but the news wasn't broken until yesterday. "The murder took place in late January. Embassy of the Russian Federation became aware of this, despite the lack of response from the US State Department," Paul Astakhov, Russia's children's ombudsman, wrote Monday on Twitter.
"US kills children" soon became the top trending hashtag on Russia's Twitter, the Washington Post reported
Before his adoption, Max had lived in the same orphanage as Chase Harrison, who died in 2008 after his adopted US parents left him in a hot car.
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Russian officials say that Max had suffered injuries to his internal organs, head and legs. They also accuse his adoptive murder of giving him psychoactive drugs, The Voice of Russia reported.
The Texas Child Protection Services has confirmed that it received allegations of physical abuse and neglect. While Russia has opened a murder inquiry, the Texas officials are still investigating the allegations, BBC News reported.
The boy's death came just three weeks after Russia passed its controversial ban on US adoptions. Russian politicians have seized on Max Shatto's death to justify the ban, according to the BBC.
"We are drawing the attention of the public to yet another instance of cruel abuse of a Russian boy adopted in the US," Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, said in a statement.