MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) – A high-ranking employee of a Russian drug rehab center run by an opposition politician has been charged with illegal detention of patients, investigators said on Saturday.
Internationally wanted Yevgeny Malenkin, vice-president of the Sverdlovsk Region-based City Without Drugs foundation, was detained on Friday.
The Russian Investigative Committee said that Malenkin was charged with nine counts of “illegal deprivation of freedom, committed by a group of individuals under a preliminary conspiracy.”
Malenkin pleaded not guilty to the charges during the questioning.
A judge ordered a two-month pretrial custody for him.
City Without Drugs has gained a reputation for a tough approach to handling its patients, who are often admitted to rehab without their written consent – usually at relatives’ request – and subjected to “cold turkey” to wean them off their addictions.
Regional investigators claimed on Friday that Malenkin had been detained in connection with unrelated drug trafficking charges. According to Urals investigators, he ordered another fund employee to plant heroin on a Yekaterinburg resident.
