Moscow police raid the home of a same-sex couple raising two adopted sons

Police in Moscow raided the home of two men who are raising two adopted sons, according to the “Stimul” (Stimulus) LGBTQ-rights group. Officers entered the apartment around eight o’clock in the morning on Friday, July 19, when the couple and their children were not home. To gain access to the apartment, officials broke the lock on the front door and left it unlocked, when leaving. 

The couple was reportedly never notified that their home was searched, and only learned about the raid from neighbors. Staff at Stimul say the two men, who have not been summoned for questioning, previously told investigators that they would be on vacation with their children.

According to the website Mediazona, police also searched the home of one of the men’s parents and brought him in for questioning.

On July 17, reports emerged that Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal negligence case against social workers employed by the Social Welfare Department of Moscow’s Maryino neighborhood. Investigators argue that the social workers allowed two children to live with their same-sex adoptive fathers to the detriment of the children’s well-being.