All news

Police detain man suspected of illegal deprivation of freedom

On June 18, a 29-year-old woman from Nizhny Tagil died in hospital in the city of Berezovsky. She was taken to the hospital from the City Without Drugs centre
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

YEKATERINBURG, October 12 (Itar-Tass) —— Police have detained the man who is suspected of illegal deprivation of freedom at the Gorod Bez Narkotikov (City Without Drugs) rehabilitation centre in Yekaterinburg.

The criminal cases opened on charges of illegal deprivation of freedom at the drug rehabilitation centre and after the death of a woman patient of the rehabilitation centre in Berezniki were combined into one.

The main detained on Thursday, October 11, is suspected of having deprived patients of their freedom against their will. He also tried to force witnesses into giving false testimony.

On June 18, a 29-year-old woman from Nizhny Tagil died in hospital in the city of Berezovsky. She was taken to the hospital from the City Without Drugs centre. A criminal case was opened following her death, on charges of "manslaughter caused by improper performance by an official of his professional duties".

According to the investigators, two persons, who were undergoing a course of rehabilitation at the foundation's centre in the village of Sarapulka on the Beloyarsk Water Reservoir, turned to police for help on the night from June 20 to June 21. They said that they were humiliated and physically abused by the centre personnel every day. At about the same time, police received information that the management of the foundation was hastily closing down rehabilitation centres, virtually throwing their patients out. Police and regional prosecutors arrived at the scene and helped the patients get to the city.

Roizman said several criminal cases are underway on charges of abduction and physical assault. On July 1, police searched the foundation's offices as part of the investigation. Four young women were deemed to be the injured parties in these cases, the Interior Ministry press service said.

City Without Drugs was created over ten years ago in Yekaterinburg, one of Russia's largest cities, by ex-convicts and ex-drug users eager to fight drug trafficking in their city and to "rehabilitate" people with drug dependency.