February 2nd, 2025

For those who care, thank you for staying informed about my efforts to bring my son, Leon Levenstein, home from the Russian Federation after his mother passed away 14 months ago. While I can't afford either optimism or pessimism until Leon is back, there were some positive developments last week. I had a seemingly fair hearing in court, where the argument that I am Leon’s biological father and, under Russian Federation law, should have custody, went largely uncontested.

Additionally, my lawyers arranged a meeting with the President’s Commissioner on Children’s Rights, during which the ministry appeared sympathetic. We also have a meeting scheduled with the Ministry of Education next week.

Surprisingly, I seem to have some support from certain branches of the Russian government. (I say "surprisingly" because the guardianship authority, another branch, has behaved horribly.) However, the staff members I met had clearly reviewed the case carefully and genuinely appeared to recognize the injustice of my son’s detention.

If you haven’t already, please sign and share the petition.

#bringleonhome