Police drop case of fake news against doctors who complained about lack of protective equipment

The Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Ivanovo Region has closed an administrative case on the spread of fakes against two ambulance paramedics who spoke on a video about the lack of personal protective equipment. This is reported by the publication "7 × 7" with reference to the press service of the department.

Earlier, Sergei Veselkov and Daria Vinogradova , who work at the Kineshma hospital, were charged with disseminating deliberately false information (part 9 of article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). In the published video, paramedics referred to the statement of the head of the regional health department, Artur Fokin, that there was no stock of protective equipment in the region and that they would have to work “from wheels”.

The video itself was recorded as part of the Open Russia project to collect donations for the purchase of personal protective equipment for doctors working with patients with coronavirus. The head of Open Russia, Andrey Pivovarov, in a conversation with 7 × 7, noted that the police have not yet informed the paramedics and lawyers of Pravozashchita Otkrytka about the termination of cases.

According to Pivovarov, he received a call from a man who introduced himself as a criminal investigation operative from Ivanovo and asked what kind of Open Russia had to do with the collection of money. “Daria Vinogradova and Sergey Veselkov were “pulled” to law enforcement agencies, they put pressure on their medical leadership from above. After the protocols were drawn up, publications were published in the federal media, and, I think, local officials and law enforcement officers were afraid of further resonance, ”7x7 quotes Pivovarov as saying.

• Medics who publicly complain about non-payment and lack of PPE are periodically called to the police or even fired . Three ambulance workers in the Ivanovo region were interviewed by the prosecutor's office because of a video about the lack of personal protective equipment.
• In the Krasnodar Territory, ambulance workers at the Abinsk and Krasnoarmeysk regional hospitals complained about payments promised by the president for working with coronavirus patients. Because of this, they were called to the police and the UK.