Teens Detail Abuse in Yekaterinburg Rehabilitation Facility
Teenagers from a rehab near Yekaterinburg complained about torture in a branch of Anna Khobotova«s center. The closed institution is located in the village of Iset.
In the Moscow region, a loud scandal has already occurred with rehab pupils — one of the employees, 29-year-old Yekaterinburg resident Vitaly Balabarikov, was accused of illegally detaining teenagers and beatings. It turned out that children in the Urals did not have it easier.
We present a conversation with the teenagers, understanding that some of what is told may not be confirmed or may be an exaggeration. When there are official comments from the investigative authorities, we will supplement the materials.
In total, there are 22 children in the center, the youngest of them is 8 years old. The children clean up after themselves and cook their own food from cheap products. At the same time, the cost of staying in the rehab starts from 90,000 rubles per month (about $900 at current rates).
They can only communicate with their parents once a week — the meetings last no more than five minutes and take place under the supervision of center staff. That is why the children could not complain to their parents about what was happening.
«We just went to sleep, sorry, at five in the morning. We got up at eight. Every night, for a month and a half, — one of the center«s wards told E1.RU. — I just had a mania to do something to myself. Now everything seems fine, but I don»t understand why I«m still here.»
«I many times wanted to end my life precisely because of what is happening here. We are not allowed to watch the news, there is no going outside, — the girl continued. — Sorry, but we can«t even look out the windows according to the rules, so that we don»t want to go home. Still, everyone wants to eat. We are constantly hungry here.»
Even showering is on a schedule — they are given 15 minutes to wash. From the hard mattresses, the teenagers« backs hurt, and there is no talk of medical help. No promised lessons were held in the center.
According to the children, if someone showed disrespect to the curator, they were punished — tied up, hit in the face, and forced to squat. They could also be punished for stealing sweets from the common kitchen.
Among those who abused the children was 29-year-old Vitaly Balabarikov.
«They told me, want a candy? Ten lashes with a belt. I agreed. [Vitaly] also hit with a belt. Here they hit with gloves. Well, in short, in the end, on my back, on my leg… There were huge black bruises,» admitted another child.
The investigative department for the city of Verkhnyaya Pyshma of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Sverdlovsk Oblast is conducting a check.
At the same time, colleagues came to the defense of the Yekaterinburg resident. His acquaintances claim that he is an experienced teacher and could not raise a hand against a child. Vitaly himself worked in the Moscow region for the last year. According to the investigation, the man tortured, beat, and tormented teenagers who found themselves in a difficult life situation. One of the schoolchildren is in a coma.
Everything known about the occurred conflict, we are gathering in an online broadcast.
Read the text of our colleagues about who Anna Khobotova is.
