The US Court of Appeal ruled to release from custody Russian woman Bogdana Osipova, who was sentenced to three years for kidnapping her own child.

Bohdana's mother, Juliana Filipyuk, told RT that she found out about this decision on the night of November 5.

“We are very pleased that the appellate court decided to release Bogdana from prison and allowed her not to be present in person at the retrial of her case in Kansas,” Filipyuk said.

- This is a great victory, we fought a lot for this decision.

Earlier, federal judge Eric Melgren insisted that my daughter be convoyed to Kansas, where there will be hearings - that is, she would be dragged around planes in handcuffs and shackles, and at each point she would have to wait out 21 days of quarantine.

It could take months. "

"Demonstrated bias" 

In the near future, a warrant for the release of the Russian woman should be issued.

Initially, Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Osipova to seven years in prison, finding her guilty not only of kidnapping a child, but also of extortion - this is how he interpreted the woman's demands for child support to her ex-husband.

Subsequently, the court of appeal dropped some of the charges, finding the Russian woman guilty only under the article on child abduction.

At that time, Osipova had already served the term for this crime - three years.

The re-sentencing in the Osipova case will take place via video link, the woman is not obliged to come to Kansas to attend the meeting.

The date of the re-hearing is still unknown, Bogdana's relatives say.

“We need to wait until the ruling of the appellate court comes into force - according to the law, this should happen within two weeks.

In addition, this decision may be challenged within 45 days, so we are waiting with bated breath to see what will happen next.

First, we are waiting for a warrant for the release of Bogdana, so that she will be free until the verdict is passed.

Secondly, we are waiting for a re-hearing in her case.

It is not yet known on what date Judge Melgren will appoint him and what decision he will make, ”explained Yuliana Filipyuk.

Bogdana's mother also expressed the hope that her daughter will soon be allowed to return to Kaliningrad, where three children are waiting for her.

Human rights activist Alexander Ionov, representing Osipova's interests, told RT that the question of whether Bogdana will be released to Russia is still open.

“Initially, her sentence was restricted to travel outside the United States for a year.

Now we are trying to find out whether the prosecutor's office will remove some of the charges and conditions for her departure.

Naturally, Bogdana wants to return to her children and family, and not be in the United States, where the situation with coronavirus is now quite serious, there are protests, the National Guard has been introduced in many states.

It's probably safer in prison now than on the streets of the United States, ”Ionov said.

Osipova's relatives fear that Judge Eric Melgren will try to prevent the release of Bogdana - according to Yulia Filipyuk, he has repeatedly “demonstrated bias” in her daughter's case.

Kidnapping charge

Earlier, RT wrote about the criminal prosecution against the Russian woman Bogdana Osipova in the United States.

In 2014, a woman ran away from her American husband along with their common daughter and her son from their first marriage.

At the time of her escape, Bogdana was pregnant with her third child, he was born already in Russia.

  • © Harvey County Detention Center

Bogdana's husband Brian Mobley accused his wife of kidnapping and went to court.

As a result, he received a divorce and full custody of the children.

An arrest warrant was issued in the name of Osipova, but the woman was able to get it canceled, convincing the American authorities that the ex-husband knew about the whereabouts of the children and communicated with them.

In 2017, Osipova returned to the United States to challenge the decision to deprive her of her parental rights and obtain joint custody of the children.

The documents were accepted, but the Russian woman herself was soon arrested at the request of her ex-husband.

He also accused her of extortion, implying Osipova's requirement to pay child support.

As a result, the woman was sentenced to seven years in prison.

At the same time, the Russian diplomats who provided support to Osipova called the court's decision unfair and sought its revision.