Another American has been imprisoned in Russia on what looks to be trumped-up charges. A Texas man has been found guilty of abusing his two sons by a Russian court. The case had been investigated in Texas and found to be without merit.
David Barnes, 66, has been detained since January 2022 in Russia. Barnes, a resident of The Woodlands, a suburban community north of Houston, traveled to Russia to gain legal clearance to see his sons. His ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, fled the United States for Russia with their two children.
Barnes was found guilty of abusing his two sons between 2014 and 2016. He was sentenced to 21 years in a high-security Russian penal colony. Gleb Glinka, his attorney, plans to appeal the conviction. He told the Barnes’ family that he would be filing for a preliminary appeal on Thursday.
“Frankly I’m horrified,” Glinka told ABC News outside the courthouse….
