A controversial court ruling in the Russian Far East is drawing international attention and sparking outrage over the denial of adoption to a loving heterosexual couple who sought to provide a home for a disabled four-year-old girl named Elya.
The prospective adoptive parents, Ali Beysenov and Yulia Beysenova, have vowed to take their battle to the highest court in Moscow. This case has cast a spotlight on Russia’s controversial adoption laws, which forbid adoption by gay and lesbian couples. Ironically, in this instance, it is a heterosexual couple facing rejection despite affirmations by sexologists in two countries that they are not homosexual.
The judge in the Primosky region of the Russian Far East denied their request, citing concerns that if both parents were to die, there was a minuscule possibility under German law that the girl could be adopted by a non-heterosexual couple. The Russian authorities were not willing to take this risk.
Critics of the ruling find it outrageous, particularly given that Russian children have been adopted in significant numbers to other EU countries where the same minimal chance of a second gay adoption exists. Last year, 46 court-approved adoptions took place in Germany.
Elya’s story is marked by heartbreak and abandonment. She was initially abandoned by her own parents, who were described as a decent family but unable to cope with raising a disabled daughter. Now, on her fifth birthday, she is likely to be placed in a nursing home.
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition urging authorities to allow Elya to join her Russian-speaking family in Germany, where she would find a loving home alongside her three prospective siblings.
Yulia Beysenova, who hails from the USSR and now resides in Germany with her husband Ali, explained their journey to seeking Elya’s adoption. In 2003, they began volunteering and assisting Russian orphanages, which eventually led them to Elya. They had hoped to provide her with a loving family and access to specialized medical treatment in Germany.
Despite their commitment to adopting Elya, the Beysenovs faced numerous challenges. They had to prove their heterosexuality by consulting sexologists in two countries, but ultimately, this was insufficient to sway the judge’s decision.
Their lawyer, Alexander Golovanov, decried the ruling as outrageous and in clear breach of Russian laws. He also questioned the judge’s suitability to preside over such cases.
The Beysenov family is not giving up their fight for Elya. They have appealed the decision, and the case will be heard in December. Additionally, they have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Judge Vyacheslav Lebedev (head of the Russian Supreme Court), and children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov in the hopes of overturning the decision and reuniting Elya with her loving family in Germany.
