Russian law enforcement authorities arrested two workers at a Moscow mental health clinic following an incident that left a 20-year-old patient without both hands, a municipal deputy who has closely followed the case said Wednesday.
The workers allegedly bound a 20-year-old woman with disabilities, cutting off blood circulation and forcing doctors to amputate both her wrists, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Municipal deputy Roman Galenkin, who represents the southwestern Obruchevsky district where the state-run mental health clinic is located, said the incident took place in mid-October and has caused outrage in the local community.
He wrote in an Oct. 31 Telegram post that the young woman was “unable to call for help and protect herself.”
Galenkin, citing staff, said Wednesday that state prosecutors arrived at the facility that morning and arrested the two clinic staff who had been on duty at the time of the incident.
The head of the Obruchevsky clinic where the incident took place has also been dismissed after less than six months on the job, Galenkin wrote.
In an earlier post, he described how the attendants allegedly tied the young woman’s hands with woolen tights instead of standard medical restraints, leaving deep marks on her wrists. When staff finally noticed her condition on the morning of Oct. 14, he said gangrene had already set in.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said Monday that it had pressed criminal charges on “inflicting grievous bodily harm,” which is punishable by up to one year in prison.
Police have not yet commented on the arrests reported by Galenkin.
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