"Illegal, unfair." In Moscow, a court sentenced pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova to 5.5 years in prison after denunciation by a patient

In Moscow, a court sentenced pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova to five and a half years in prison because she allegedly spoke critically about a “special military operation” in Ukraine during one of her appointments. The defense is confident of the doctor’s innocence and slander against her. At least 150 doctors also spoke out in defense of the pediatrician and signed an open letter asking him to stop harassing his colleague.

Nadezhda Buyanova in the Tushinsky court Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS

The Tushinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Nadezhda Buyanova, a 68-year-old pediatrician at the capital's children's clinic No. 140, to five years and six months in a general regime colony, finding her guilty of spreading fake news about the Russian army due to a comment about a “special military operation” in Ukraine during a reception . Lawyers Oscar Cherdzhiev and Leonid Solovyov, who represent Buyanova’s interests in court, reported this to Such Cases.

“The sentence is five years and six months. Even in the current realities, we did not expect such a decision. We don’t agree with it, we consider it illegal, unfair and we will appeal,” Cherdzhiev said.

Lawyer Soloviev called this verdict absolutely unjust and emphasized that this court decision was based on the testimony of “a person who experiences national hatred for people born in Ukraine,” like Buyanov.

Before the hearing began, the accused addressed those present in the hall:

“Every person should have an inner core, their own beliefs. A person must empathize with other people, that’s why he is a person.”

“You need to be able to empathize and love people. You need to be able to carry love. Love and kindness,” concluded the doctor.

In February 2024, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Nadezhda Buyanova under an article about fakes about the Russian army, after Moscow resident Anastasia Akinshina wrote a denunciation against her. The mother of a seven-year-old child reported in a statement to security forces that during an appointment with a pediatrician at children's clinic No. 140, Buyanova allegedly reacted rudely to the woman's words about a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

As Akinshina said, Buyanova asked why the boy was “capricious.” The mother replied that her son was missing his father, a participant in a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Then, according to Akinshina, the doctor allegedly stated that the Russian army soldier was “a legitimate target for Ukraine, and in general, Russia itself is to blame.”

Buyanova did not confirm this and denied the accusations - according to the pediatrician, during the appointment she did not have a conversation with Akinshina either about the Russian army or about the child’s father. The appointment record from Buyanova’s office was not at the disposal of the clinic’s management.

After Akinshina contacted law enforcement agencies, Buyanova was fired from her job, her apartment was searched, and two months later she was placed in a pre-trial detention center. Initially, the pediatrician was charged with the charge of publicly disseminating fake news about the Russian army - Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, then the motive of racial, national or political hatred was added to the charge - paragraph “e” of Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code.

Buyanova appealed her dismissal from the clinic, and in July 2024 the court declared it illegal and decided to reinstate the doctor in her position and pay her compensation - 928 thousand rubles.

Statue of the goddess Themis near the building of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in Moscow Photo: Ilya Pitalev / RIA Novosti

According to lawyer Cherdzhiev, the accusation against Buyanova is based on slander and false testimony.

During the confrontation, the defense lawyer asked Akinshina whether her son was present during the conversation with the doctor. “She replied that the child came out after the examination. But then Akinshina changed her testimony and said that the child came out after the conversation,” the lawyer said.

In addition, the defense was not allowed to obtain the child's testimony directly, even in the presence of a psychologist. But the boy’s words were allegedly conveyed through this psychologist, says Cherdzhiev. Thus, the specialist argued that a seven-year-old boy independently used the following expressions: “legitimate target”, “aggressor” and “SVO”.

“I asked, ‘Don’t you think it’s strange that a child that age would use that vocabulary?’”

“She said it was normal. And then I already had serious doubts about the objectivity of this psychologist’s testimony. How can we evaluate this? Perhaps the child did not say these words, or if he did, it was clearly under someone’s influence,” the lawyer argues.

In May 2024, more than 150 doctors signed an open letter in defense of Nadezhda Buyanova, demanding her release. Doctors emphasized that persecuting a doctor “sends a powerful signal to young professionals: do not go into medicine.”

“I wrote letters to Nadezhda in the pre-trial detention center, signed every petition and letters in support of her, and was at one of the hearings on her case in the Moscow City Court,” says Moscow anesthesiologist-resuscitator Zhanna Afanasyeva.

She says that Buyanova’s case looks politically motivated, and that the doctor herself simply found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Any term for Buyanova will be a real test - she is 68 years old, and I can’t imagine how she will survive there. She is not a political activist, but an ordinary person,” Afanasyeva concludes.

A medical school student from Moscow, Olesya Mirina, attends every court hearing in the Buyanova case. The girl recalls that at one of the meetings Akinshina began to complain about the large number of people in the hall who supported Buyanova: “She said to the hall: “There are so many of you here.” And another question popped into my head:

“Why is there no one with you?”

Pediatrician Irina Murunova also signed letters in support of Buyanova. In October of this year, Irina herself underwent searches, which she associates specifically with the support of her colleague. After this, the doctor was forced to leave Russia.

“Nadezhda’s court case itself seems to be telling us, all doctors: don’t stick your head out, don’t speak out. Because there will be no trial, there will be no witnesses, there will be no need to prove anything. Any person can be imprisoned,” the doctor concluded.