Starved and watered with boiling water: new scandals with rehabs in the Moscow region

Employees of two private rehabilitation centers, Sertsa (Antonov PRO) and Inextinguishable Hope, were detained in the Moscow region, where guests were illegally detained and subjected to violence under the pretext of addiction treatment. In total, eight people, including the owners of institutions, were detained in two criminal cases of imprisonment. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

What is known about crimes in the centers

According to the investigation, about 30 people between the ages of 19 and 75 were held in the SERTS center (Antonov PRO) in the Leninsky Urban District (Maly Vidny). The guests reported systematic beatings, psychological pressure, restrictions on food and water, as well as the use of powerful drugs without medical prescriptions. As a relative of one of the guests told Izvestia, the patients were starved and given boiling water, and the food brought by their relatives was taken away by "caretakers".

The second center, the Inextinguishable Hope, was located in Yegoryevsk. According to investigators, eight people were subjected to violence and illegal detention there. The staff of both institutions independently established strict regime and rules, using physical violence. The cost of staying in the centers was estimated from 50 to 80 thousand rubles per month.

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The court arrested two suspects, but nothing is known about the whereabouts of the clinic's owner, psychologist Anna Khobotova.

Who was involved in the organization of the centers

The owner of the Sertsa center (Antonov PRO) is Maxim Antonov, a blogger who talks about overcoming drug addiction on his social networks. According to Izvestia, the Kutovy twins, bloggers, were being treated at the center. The owner of the second center, the Inextinguishable Hope in Yegoryevsk, turned out to be Vitaly Serezhkin.

The general and financial director of the SERTSA center, as well as employees of the center in Yegoryevsk, were detained as part of criminal cases. Investigators conducted searches, seized documentation and interrogated the victims. According to the source, the two centers are not connected to each other, but inspections were carried out in them almost simultaneously.

Another high-profile case of exposing bullying in rehab

This is not the first time that cruel practices have been exposed in private rehabilitation centers in the Moscow region. Earlier, at the end of November, a criminal case was opened against a center for teenagers in Istra, where 24 minors were tortured. The owner of that center, psychologist Anna Khobotova, is also suspected of organizing criminal activities.

In turn, a pupil of the center told Izvestia that the staff of the center forced the victims to carry out humiliating tasks and persuaded the girls to have sexual contacts. The injured woman told in detail about one of the girls who was constantly abused by a counselor.

On November 28, the Istra District Court arrested Anna Khobotova, the organizer of the rehab in Dedovsk, Moscow region, until January 22. A criminal case was opened against her under paragraph "a" of Part 3 of Article 111, paragraph "d" of Part 2 of Article 117, paragraphs "a, b, e" of Part 2 of Article 127, paragraph "a, c" of Part 2 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Intentional infliction of serious harm to health by a group of persons", "Torture of minors", "Provision of services that do not meet safety requirements", "Unlawful imprisonment"). At the same time, Khobotova pleaded not guilty in the case of violent acts in the institution.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.