Retrial begins in transplant case

August 8, 2005

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - The retrial of a case against doctors accused of performing illegal kidney transplants will begin Monday, Yuri Kostanov, a lawyer of one of the defendants said.

The Moscow city court acquitted four doctors from the 20th city hospital of all charges on March 1, 2005.

"There was not enough evidence against the defendants," the verdict read.

The Prosecutor's office disagreed with the verdict and appealed to a higher court. The Supreme Court overturned the ruling and sent the case back for revision.

The defense attempted to appeal the high court's decision, but the Presidium of the Supreme Court upheld it.

Defense lawyers said prosecutors would not be able to prove the defendants had committed premeditated murder.

In response, state prosecutors said they were not against the transplantation of body parts in general. "The prosecution supports research in the sphere of transplantation. We understand the pain and suffering that people awaiting a transplant go through," state prosecutor Alexander Remizov said. "However, we support transplantation that does not violate the rights and interests of citizens."

The prosecution accused medical personnel at the Moscow Organ Donation Coordination Center of preparing for the murder of a patient who had been brought to the hospital on April 11, 2003 with a diagnosis of "closed craniocerebral injury."

The court ruled, however, that "the doctors started preparing for transplantation only after the fact of the patient's death had been established."

Copyright © 2005 Russia News & Information Agency.

This article posted August 29, 2005.