A Moscow court sentenced European Center of Surrogate Motherhood Director Vladislav Melnikov and three physicians from the facility to prison terms of between 16 years and 19 1/2 years on charges of child trafficking. The defendants had pleaded not guilty. Two other women were handed prison terms of between four years and 10 1/2 years. The case was launched in 2020 after four toddlers delivered by surrogate mothers were found in a town near Moscow, one of whom died of sudden infant death syndrome. Investigators subsequently revealed that the children's biological parents were foreigners, which is illegal in Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
