Chelyabinsk doctor sentenced for fatal binge-drinking treatment
The Central District Court of Chelyabinsk considered a criminal case against a 31-year-old psychiatrist-narcologist accused of providing illegal services for withdrawal from binge drinking. After one such session, a 47-year-old patient died. The doctor was sentenced to three and a half years in a general regime penal colony and banned from practicing medicine for one and a half years. This was reported on Monday, February 2, by the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Investigative Committee (SK).
The doctor was found guilty of illegal trafficking of potent substances and illegal medical activity resulting in the negligent death of a person (part 3 of Article 234 and part 2 of Article 235 of the Russian Criminal Code). He was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was announced.
According to the investigation, the narcologist and other clinic employees had been providing binge-drinking withdrawal services using potent drugs for about three years. On January 15 last year, after another house call and administration of medication (the visit cost 10,000 rubles, approximately $110 at current rates), one of the patients in the village of Kasargi near Chelyabinsk died. The court ordered the payment of 1.5 million rubles (approximately $16,300 at current rates) in compensation for moral damages to his relatives.
The accused entered into a pre-trial cooperation agreement, so his criminal case was separated into a separate proceeding. The investigation regarding the other 13 medical workers of the clinic continues.
