A Moscow psychiatric facility that earlier made the headlines for strapping its child inmates to the beds is now at the center of another scandal after it showed children with psychiatric disorders the film "The Silence of the Lambs," a dark and gruesome U.S. thriller about a murderous cannibal and a serial killer.
A court ruled Wednesday that in showing the Oscar-winning grizzly tale at the facility, Psychiatric Hospital No. 15 had broken the law on distributing information to children that is harmful to their health and ordered the hospital to pay a fine of an undisclosed size, the Interfax news agency reported this week.
"A precedent has been set for an institution being found guilty of committing a violation of the law by showing unsuitable content to minors with severe psychiatric disorders," Yulia Sergeyeva, a spokeswoman for Russia's children's rights ombudsman, was cited as saying by Interfax.
Psychiatric Hospital No. 15 was at the center of a media storm last month when photos were posted on social networking sites showing children strapped to beds. During the course of an inspection of the facility, it emerged that the junior inmates had been shown "The Silence of the Lambs," which contains elements of horror.
In the U.S., the 1991 film was given an R rating upon its release, meaning that viewers under 17 had to be accompanied by an adult. "The Silence of the Lambs" placed seventh on a list of "The 100 Scariest Movie Moments" compiled in 2004 by the U.S.-based Bravo television channel.