Russia National Osipova Asks US Court To Allow Contact With Her Children - Lawyers

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2020) Russian national Bogdana Osipova, who has been released from US prison until she is re-sentenced next year, asked the court to allow her to contact her children, Osipova's lawyers said in a motion on Thursday.

"Ms. Mobley, based on the foregoing assertions and argument, prays that this Court amend the conditions of her release by removing the requirement of avoiding any contact with her children," the lawyers said using Osipova's married name.

Osipova has demonstrated that her children are not traditional victims in a criminal case and her contacting them will not cause any danger, the lawyers said, adding that her previous contact while she was imprisoned did not create any problems.

"The physical distance between Ms. Mobley and her children during her release pending re-sentencing remains; the only difference is that now Ms. Mobley is in the Eastern District of New York rather than the Districts of Kansas or Connecticut, while her children are still in Russia," the lawyers said.

In 2014, Osipova left the United States with her child without his consent from former husband Brian Mobley while pregnant with another child. She was arrested upon returning to the United States in 2017 and sentenced to seven years in prison for child abduction and extortion in 2019.

In August, the Kansas Court of Appeals cleared Osipova of the extortion charges and ordered a revision of the verdict. Abduction of a child by one of the parents is punishable by a sentence of three years in prison - the amount of time Osipova already served.

Osipova was released on a $25,000 bail and will appear before the court to hear the revised verdict on January 8.