Moscow dentist beaten up by colleagues after complaining to mayor
Ivan Stepanov, an employee at a children’s dental clinic in Moscow, says his coworkers attacked him after he wrote a complaint to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
In the letter, the 23-year old reported that there were only two dentists working in the clinic when it was supposed to be staffed by seven. As a result, each child receives just 15 minutes of attention during an appointment.
At first, Stepanov's colleagues sought revenge by trying to humiliate him, according to Andrei Konoval, an official in Stepanov’s medical workers’ union. For example, they forced him to write explanatory notes when he needed to use the bathroom.
The situation escalated and became violent on June 24, when, Stepanov says, the head doctor entered his office with four other employees.
"I was sitting on the chair, and the head doctor and her subordinates began to behave aggressively," Stepanov told the website Takie Dela. "They spoke rudely to me and tried to force me to sign an act permitting them to search my desk, which they started rummaging through. When I warned them that I would begin filming, one of the men attacked me, grabbing my neck from behind and throwing me to the floor. I hit the tiled floor, covered my face with my hands, and then continued reaching for my phone. Suddenly, I felt a woman's hands snatching it from me, and someone was beating my back. I might have lost consciousness for a short time. When the head doctor finally took the phone, there was a struggle, and I managed to escape from the office and call for help.”
Konoval says other staff at the hospital witnessed the attack. Stepanov's wife has made a statement to the police, as has head doctor Olga Sagina. Moscow police confirm than an incident took place.
We were unable to catch Sagina at the workplace. The head of the department [at the hospital] answered our telephone call. She refused to comment on the incident, but told us that Sagina was receiving medical care and may be hospitalized.