“No bruises means you’re healthy”

26-year-old Vadim Ermakov died in the Mozhaisk pre-trial detention center. He was arrested on charges of fraud, despite a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia. The family tried for several days to call an ambulance to the pre-trial detention center, but the administration refused. Ermakov’s lawyer Elena Romanova and his father Vadim Ermakov clarified to PublicPost the circumstances of the tragedy.

Elena Romanova, lawyer

— Elena, what was Vadim accused of?

Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code, “Fraud”. According to investigators, he, with a group of people and by prior conspiracy, took possession of land plots in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region. I cannot yet say who the victims are, since the investigation is ongoing and there has been no court decision.

— How did your client end up in a pre-trial detention center?

On January 14, Vadim was detained by an investigator and placed in a temporary detention center in the city of Odintsovo. On January 15, the Odintsovo City Court chose a preventive measure of detention. On January 18, we appealed this decision; a hearing by the Moscow Regional Court had not even been scheduled yet. But on January 21 he was charged.

- What condition was he in then?

Very heavy, I came out wearing only rubber flip-flops. On the 25th he was again brought to the Odintsovo City Court, where I personally called an ambulance, talked on the phone with a psychiatrist, and read out Vadim’s diagnosis. Judge Modyakov couldn’t even establish his identity and asked: “Who did you bring me?” In addition, the investigator had all the medical documents since January 14, Vadim and I signed all the documents ordering a psychiatric examination, but the judge ignored my request to allow the ambulance team in and left. We appealed to the chairman of the court, the chairman did not receive us, his deputy said that she would discuss this issue. And then she returned and said that Ermakov was not in the courthouse - he was taken to a temporary detention facility. At the temporary detention center, our doctor was told that Vadim had already been sent to Mozhaisk. My relatives and I went to Mozhaisk, on the way they called an ambulance, but the ambulance said that the call should be from the pre-trial detention center. When we arrived at the pre-trial detention center, we were informed that the patient was not complaining. We replied that the patient had not eaten or drunk since the 14th - he simply could not. To this they told us that since there are no bruises, it means he is healthy, and the authorities of the pre-trial detention center will be there tomorrow. On Saturday, the 26th, we were already standing at the door, calling, but they did not want to accept our request to call an ambulance. As a result, they called the deputy director of the pre-trial detention center, Vinogradova, who took our statements and promised to personally go and check on Vadim. About 30 minutes later she came down and didn’t look up at us anymore. But in the pre-trial detention center, the parents were promised that if things got really bad, they would call an ambulance, and that their son would not die.

—Have you done anything else?

On Saturday, when Vadim was still alive, we went into the president’s reception room, and the appeal was left there. They asked only for one thing - to allow an ambulance. On Monday I was at the Prosecutor General's Office, explaining that he could die. They promised to sort it out. The Moscow regional prosecutor's office told me to go to Odintsovo. The parents were at the Mozhaisk prosecutor's office, they immediately initiated an investigation and sent an assistant prosecutor. He revealed that urgent hospitalization was needed. And about 40 minutes later they called an ambulance, and the ambulance had already recorded the fact of death.

- What is the cause of death?

I have a death certificate and the cause is being established. Today the parents were called to pick up the body, all funeral services were ordered. But the body was not given away. They said more research is needed.

Vadim Mikhailovich Ermakov

— When was your son diagnosed with schizophrenia?

At the end of July, as part of this criminal case, he gave testimony to the investigator, and he released him. After 2 days, my brother called me from Moscow and said that my son came to him in an inadequate condition. Inadequate - because my son did not drink, did not smoke, was involved in bodybuilding, competed in competitions, and took prizes throughout our Kaluga region. Vadim grabbed a knife from his brother and stuck it under his heart. They called an ambulance and held the wound with their hands until they arrived. They took me to the hospital. From there I transported him to a psychiatric clinic in Kaluga. His mother sat in the back seat with him, coaxing him like a five-year-old child. Our child was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, examined, and treated. Spoon fed. I won’t say how long he stayed there, everything turned upside down in my head. Doctors said it would take more than a year to get him back on his feet. They took him home under personal responsibility - the guys came to him to watch TV and play on the computer. They gave him medications on schedule, they hid everything at home, his mother prepared food that he could eat without a knife. And then the lawyer called and said that he needed to be brought to Odintsovo to give additional testimony.