American David Barnes ‘fighting for his life’ in Russian jail: Sister

(NewsNation) — An American who has been detained in a Russian prison for three years is “fighting for his life,” and his sister hopes peace talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will lead to his release.

David Barnes has been detained in Moscow since January 2022, following allegations from his Russian ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, that he sexually abused their children while living in the United States.

Koptyaeva took their two young children to Russia amid a custody battle. The Texas Justice Department has found those allegations to be not credible, and there is an arrest warrant out for Koptyaeva after taking the kids to Russia from Texas.

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Barnes visited Russia to see his children and was subsequently arrested and detained by Russian authorities. He was found guilty two years later in a Russian court and received a 21.5-year sentence.

According to ABC News, his appeal to be released was denied. Following peace talks between Trump and Putin, Barnes’s sister, Margaret Aaron, is hoping her brother’s chances of freedom will increase.

“Maybe this summit will lead to better relations … and that there will be a breakthrough in prisoner releases,” Aaron told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Friday.

Aaron says it is been several weeks since they have heard from Barnes and that he is being held in a cell with up to 14 other cellmates of various nationalities.

The conditions, Aaron says, are “horrible,” and the food is “not edible.”

Barnes has not yet been designated as a wrongfully detained citizen by the State Department.

“We do not know [why], we’ve been fighting for that. We hope that happens soon; he needs to be wrongfully detained.

“We have faith in President Trump’s administration that this will happen,” Aaron added.

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