Moscow agents tracked down the private phone number of a Long Island couple who wants to cancel their adoption of two children from Russia and called them in an apparent threat.
The couple’s attorney, Thomas O. Rice, told a judge the call left his clients “in a significant state of fright” but wouldn’t elaborate on what was said.
In a case that has outraged Russian officials, the anonymous couple say they were duped in 2008 into adopting two siblings who have behavioral issues. The children, 12 and 14, have been living in state mental-health facilities since 2012.
Igor Golubovskiy, consulate general of the Russian Federation in New York, has written to the judge requesting “detailed information on this case.”
Kremlin agents also want access to the children.
But during a hearing in Nassau County Surrogate Court, Judge Edward McCarty III warned Russian officials to back off.
“Under international law, any contact between the Russian Federation diplomatic corps and local political institutions or courts is inappropriate,” he said.
The couple is asking the court to vacate the adoptions and turn the children over to New York state.
They are suing adoption agencies Spence Chapin and Cradle of Hope for alleged fraud, claiming a “bait and switch” ploy.
Last month, McCarty made an unusual decision to keep the courtroom open, citing public interest.
He said Russian agents’ interference would not deter him from keeping the proceedings transparent.
US-Russian relations have been strained over adoptions and worsened in 2010, when a Tennessee woman returned her adopted son to Moscow alone on a plane.
In 2003, Russia banned US couples from adopting its orphans, claiming 21 of the children died in American parents’ care. But it is believed the move was in retaliation for US sanctions.
Pavel Astakhov, an aide to Vladimir Putin and a critic of US adoptions, has blasted the Long Island couple in Russian and British media.
“This is utter nonsense. The American couple had a complete dossier on each child and had the right to consult any doctor,” he said.
Given the attention, the couple’s lawyers, the state attorney general and the adoption agencies want McCarty to close the court.
He said he would rule on the matter on Dec.?5.