Russian authorities seek to restrict the parental rights of Alexey Moskalev, whose daughter drew an anti-war picture in school

A regional court in the Tula region is seeking to restrict the parental rights of Alexey Moskalev, whose daughter, Masha, drew an anti-war picture during school art class. Telegram channels supporting the Moskalevs report that a hearing related to the case has been scheduled for March 15.

In January, the city of Efremov’s Commission on Juvenile Affairs filed a suit against the Moskalev family for being “in a socially dangerous situation” since May 2022. The head of the commission, Svetlana Davydova, says the family was flagged because the father did not attempt to return his daughter to school after the anti-war picture incident, and the mother lives on her own and shows no interest in her daughter’s life.

A Telegram channel supporting the Moskalevs notes that Masha has been in a social rehabilitation shelter since March 1. Employees there refuse to let her return home.

“We can’t find out anything about Masha since March 1. The management of the shelter and its director won’t give us any information about her. They ignore all requests and tell us to stop writing about Masha Moskaleva. They never gave her the phone we brought for her to communicate with her dad,” reads a post on the channel.

Human rights activists have asked everyone interested in the case to come to the March 15 hearing, and to “flood [the shelter] with complaints,” since Masha Moskaleva is being held there “against her will and without a court decision.”