Representatives of the Gorod Bez Narkotikov rehabilitation foundation said on Thursday that the exhumation of the body of one of its patients who died in dubious circumstances has begun in Nizhny Tagil.
The deceased patient, Tatyana Kazantseva, 29, was an addict placed in the one of the foundation's rehabilitation centers in the village of Sarapulka in 2012. She complained of feeling sick on June 10 and seven days later was taken to hospital where she died. According to a spokesman for the fund, Kazantseva died from meningitis. Following the death, several criminal cases have been opened against the fund.
Police cordoned off the graveyard where the exhumation took place claiming that they have received information that the site has been mined but later admitted it was a false alarm.
Spokesman for the court of the nearby city of Berezovsky, Oksana Lubnina, said that the city court on Tuesday officially permitted the exhumation of Kazantseva’s body. “The prosecutor general’s office applied for the exhumation and the court granted permission,” Lubnina said.
Gorod Bez Narkotikov, which translates as "City Without Drugs," promotes radical methods for treating drug addiction. After securing permission from the patient and relatives, the addict is totally isolated for some time while overcoming withdrawal symptoms.
In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid, Natalya Grinyova, a female who was undergoing rehabilitation along with Kazantseva, claimed that Kazantseva was beaten in the rehab center several times and died of mistreatment by medical personnel.
But Kazantseva’s sister Marina claimed in an interview with Izvestia newspaper that she and her relatives have no complaints against Gorod Bez Narkotikov, saying that Tatyana was not mistreated by doctors.
