Pyt-Yakh clinic head and husband arrested in migration case

A court in Yugra remanded the head of the district hospital’s paid clinic and her businessman husband in custody for two months. They are accused of organizing the illegal stay of foreign nationals by using their official positions.

On November 12, the Pyt-Yakh City Court in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra ordered the head of the paid medical services clinic at the Pyt-Yakh District Clinical Hospital and her husband, an individual entrepreneur, to be held in pretrial detention. They will remain in custody for two months, the press service of the Yugra courts said.

The couple are accused of organizing the illegal stay of foreign nationals in Russia as part of a group acting by prior conspiracy and using their official positions. Their actions have been charged under paragraphs “a” and “b” of Part 2 of Article 322.1 of the Russian Criminal Code.

City bus on a street in Pyt-Yakh (archive)

What the court decided

After examining the materials submitted by investigators, the court concluded that a less restrictive measure would not be possible for the defendants. The ruling has not yet entered into force and may be appealed. The court did not specify how many foreign nationals are involved in the case or what exactly the alleged scheme consisted of.

The press service of the courts recalled that under Article 49 of the Constitution, an accused person is presumed innocent until guilt is proven in accordance with the procedure established by law and confirmed by a final court verdict.

In recent years, Yugra has consistently tightened regional rules for labor migrants, including by expanding the list of professions closed to foreign nationals. The State Duma has previously cited the okrug’s migration policy as an example for other regions.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0, public domain; archive)