A 69-year-old Texas father has described the brutal conditions he says he is facing inside a Soviet-era Russian penal colony, where he was sent after traveling to the country to see his sons.
David Barnes was arrested in January 2022, shortly after arriving in Moscow to visit his children. He claims the boys had been unlawfully taken to Russia by his former wife, Svetlana Boricovna.
Boricovna was accused of removing the two American-born boys, now seven and 11, from their Houston home without permission. The case prompted an Interpol alert.
The couple’s divorce was deeply contentious, with Boricovna alleging that Barnes had sexually abused their children. Texas authorities investigated those claims but concluded that Barnes had committed no crime.
Barnes was tried in Russia while seated behind the bars of an iron cage. Two years after the proceedings began, he was convicted of molesting the boys while they were living in the United States.
He is serving a 22.5-year sentence at the IK-7 penal colony in Shilovo, a small town where inmates have reportedly faced severe conditions, forced labor and allegations of widespread torture and abuse.
The former software programmer described the prison as “hell” during a series of telephone interviews with Texas Monthly. Barnes alleges that medical care at the facility is dangerously inadequate.
“There’s no dental facilities,” he told the publication, saying he has lost half of his teeth during the past four years. “The only thing they’ll do is extract your tooth.”
David Barnes, 69, was arrested in January 2022 after flying to Moscow to see his children, whom he alleges were abducted by his former wife, Svetlana Boricovna
Barnes and Boricovna married at a Houston courthouse in October 2009, roughly six months after they began dating. He said she was already pregnant with their first son
Barnes, shown at his Houston home, is serving a 22.5-year sentence after a Russian court convicted him of sexually assaulting his two sons. He denies the accusations
Barnes, a former male model who says he has always been devoted to his health, has lost 25 pounds since entering the prison system.
He says malnutrition has left his face gaunt and that his meals typically consist of cabbage, macaroni and stringy meat.
Although he can take brief walks in the prison yard and use several rusty barbells, Barnes says opportunities to exercise and communicate with the outside world are severely limited.
He is barred from sending or receiving letters and may make phone calls lasting no more than 15 minutes. The connection is so poor, he says, that it sounds as though he is calling from outer space.
His sister, Carol Barnes, told the news outlet that she frequently hears other inmates shouting in the background during their calls.
Carol deposits money into her brother’s commissary account to help him purchase additional food and make calls to the United States. She suspects, however, that other prisoners are extorting him for protection.
Barnes continues to deny the allegations and says he has been wrongfully detained. He describes himself as a “political prisoner” and says American lawmakers have abandoned him.
“I need help,” he told the outlet, adding that he has “faith” President Donald Trump will help secure his return to the United States. “He won’t allow me to be left behind,” Barnes said.
Barnes was tried in Russia from behind the bars of an iron cage and convicted two years after proceedings began of molesting his two sons while they were in the United States
Barnes, seen being flanked in court by a Russian guard, has been serving his sentence at the IK-7 penal colony. He alleges medical care at the facility is abysmal and that he has lost half of his teeth during the four years he’s been locked up
Inmates are reportedly subjected to harsh conditions, forced labor and allegations of systemic torture and abuse at the IK-7 prison in Shilovo. Photos the IK-7 are not available, but it likely resembles the IK-6 penal colony shown above
He did note he is ‘disappointed’ in his Texas congressmen for ‘not making me a priority.’ The Barnes family says they contacted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen Ted Cruz and James Talarico, a state representative and congressional hopeful, seeking help, but have not heard back.
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Barnes and Boricovna met in 2007 at an apartment complex in Houston, where they were neighbors. She had just immigrated from Russia a few months prior.
The pair quickly became friends and then tied the knot at the local courthouse in October 2009, about six months after they started dating. Boricovna had fallen pregnant with their first son, Barnes said.
He said the relationship quickly turned sour after their eldest son’s birth and by 2013 they were living in separate homes.
Boricovna wanted a divorce, he claimed, but he wanted to work on their marriage for the sake of their son.
The couple spent an evening together in autumn 2013 and Boricovna fell pregnant again, Barnes recalled. They then agreed to move back in together.
They welcomed their second son in early 2014, but the relationship only worsened, with Boricovna accusing Barnes of molesting their toddler.
The couple divorced in 2017 and Barnes was investigated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services the following year over the abuse allegations.
Detectives did not find enough evidence to bring charges against him.
Barnes, pictured with his son, maintains his innocence and alleges he has been wrongfully detained. He described himself as a ‘political prisoner’ and said he feels abandoned by American lawmakers.
Barnes, who was once a male model and describes himself as a health fanatic, said he has lost 25 pounds while in custody. He claims his face is gaunt from malnutrition and that he survives on meals consisting of cabbage, macaroni and stringy meat
Boricovna took Barnes to court in Texas in 2019 seeking sole custody of the boys due to the alleged abuse.
He alleged she ‘coached’ the boys into making ‘false accusations’ against him and petitioned for primary custody to ‘protect’ them from her.
A jury ultimately denied both their requests.
Boricovna drove straight from the courthouse to her attorney’s office to collect the boys’ passports, picked them up from school and took them to the airport where they boarded a one-way flight to Russia.
‘All I knew at that moment was that I could not fail to protect my boys again, as I did in 2014,’ she said in a statement provided to the Russian court system.
‘The system failed to believe and protect the boys, but it was my duty as their mom to continue protecting them.’
Barnes, in a bid to pursue a custody arrangement, retained a lawyer in Russia and subsequently traveled to the country on December 11, 2021.
When he arrived in Russia, he found an apartment in the same building as Boricovna. But when his ex-wife saw him there, she notified the police.
The father-of-two, above with one of his sons, says he needs US lawmakers to help bring him home
He was arrested in January 2022 on charges of sexually abusing his two sons. After a judge denied his bail request, he was remanded into custody.
His trial began in the fall of 2022 but was held intermittently and did not conclude until February 2024, when he was found guilty and sentenced to 21.5 years in prison.
His lawyer appealed the conviction on procedural grounds, but the appeal was rejected. The court then added an additional year to his sentence, as permitted under Russian law.
