FREE DAVID BARNES
American citizen David Barnes had his two sons kidnapped to Russia by their mother after a court ruled that they would have shared custody after their divorce. When he traveled to Russia to visit his sons, she made baseless allegations of abuse – claims that had previously been investigated and found to be unsubstantiated by a Texas court and Child Protective Services.
The Russians arrested and prosecuted David, finding him guilty and sentencing him to 21 years.
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About David
US citizen David Barnes is a 66-year-old resident of Texas who was born and grew up in Alabama. He is an engineer, who works for KBR, Inc (Kellogg Brown and Root) designing industrial facilities. In 2009, David married a Russian émigré – Svetlana Boricovna Koptyaeva – who he met at the pool in their apartment complex. They had two sons – one in 2010 and the other in 2014. His marriage fell apart as his wife refused to assimilate, spoke Russian in the home and had only Russian friends, and then moved her mother in. She smothered the kids, even making them sleep in the same bed with her.
David’s Case In The News
What Happened In Texas
In 2013, Svetlana filed for divorce from David. To gain extra leverage, she alleged he had abused his only son at the time. But then they got pregnant with their second son, and she withdrew the case.
In 2014, David filed for divorce from Svetlana, which was granted in 2015. In 2018, Svetlana tried to gain sole custody of the boys. Despite having previously withdrawn her allegations of abuse, she made them again to try to sway the court.
This time Child Protective Services and the Texas District Attorney’s office both investigated and found them to be unsubstantiated. The Assistant District Attorney assigned to the case stated: “They were extremely outrageous allegations … that just had no credibility to them, whatsoever.”
On March 26, 2019, a Texas jury ruled that both parents would have shared custody. Within two days of the ruling, Svetlana fled with the kids to Turkey and then to Russia.
There is an open arrest warrant for Svetlana in Texas, the FBI has an open investigation of her for kidnapping the boys, in 2020 Interpol issued a Yellow Notice for the boys as victims of kidnapping, and the Center for Missing & Exploited Children has a case file on the boys.
Christian And David’s Interpol Yellow Notices
When Svetlana illegally left the United States with her and David’s son to avoid sharing custody, Interpol issued the fellow Yellow Notices to put law enforcement across the world on alert for the two kidnapped children.
What happened in Russia
Even after hiring a private investigator and lawyer, it took time for David to find Svetlana and the boys in Russia. When they found her, David had her served with papers so a Texas court could grant him sole custody. David had to fight his way through the COVID shutdown to get a visa to visit Russia, eventually arriving in late 2021.
On the advice of his lawyer, he rented an apartment near her so a Russian court would agree to give him visitation rights, and it would be minimally disruptive to his sons. When Svetlana found out he was in Russia, she made an allegation of child abuse to the police, who arrested David.
He was not allowed to see his lawyer for two months. A Russian court convicted him without evidence even though the alleged abuse would have occurred in the US and a Texas court had already investigated and ruled the allegations were without merit.
He was sentenced to 21 years in a penal colony in February 2024. The Russian government has refused to share the court case file or any evidence or testimony that was used to convict him.
Learn More About David’s Case
How Can You Help?
Please write to Senators Cruz and Cornyn and ask them to leverage the full leverage of the United States to bring home David Barnes, an innocent father beind held in Russia for trying to stay in his children’s lives.
Free David Barnes
Dear [Member of Congress],
I am asking you to call for David Barnes’ release. David is an Alabama native, Texas resident, engineer, and, most importantly, the father of two young boys. David is currently being detained in Russia on a 21-year sentence based on false allegations that have already been investigated and disproved by Texas law enforcement officials.
In 2014, David filed for divorce from the mother of his children, a Russian émigré named Svetlana Boricovna Koptyaeva. Svetlana accused Barnes of child abuse, but CPS and the Texas Attorney General quickly investigated and disproved Koptyaeva’s claims. The ADA on the case even said, “They were extremely outrageous allegations…that just had no credibility to them, whatsoever.”
In 2019, within two days of a Texas jury ruling that Svetlana and David would share joint custody, Svetlana fled with the kids to Turkey and then to Russia. There is an open arrest warrant for Svetlana in Texas, the FBI has an open investigation of her for kidnapping the boys, in 2020 Interpol issued a Yellow Notice for the boys as victims of kidnapping, and the Center for Missing & Exploited Children has a case file on the boys.
David followed his family to Russia, but his ex-wife made allegations of child abuse to Russian officials who arrested David. He was not allowed to see a lawyer for two months. A Russian court convicted him without evidence even though the alleged abuse would have occurred in the Texas, where again, it had already been disproven.
We demand action now. An American father moving heaven and earth to be in his sons’ lives is exactly the kind of situation where the American government needs to wield the full force of our foreign policy to defend our citizens abroad. Please work with the State Department to find a quick solution to David’s case that brings him and his sons home now.
Important Senators:
We are very grateful for your support.
Support David’s Family As They Try To Bring Him Home
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your interest in David’s story, especially if you’ve reached out to our four Senators.
If you’re able to support David’s family as they try to navigate this legal ordeal and family tragedy, we would be very grateful.