- Title: RUSSIA: RUSSIAN VETS FACING PROSECUTION IN KREMLIN'S NEW NO-TOLERANCE DRUG WAR
- Date: 25th May 2004
- Summary: (EU) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MAY 26, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. WS: SUPPORTERS OF VETERINARIANS STANDING OUTSIDE OF MOSCOW COURT HOUSE/ CU PLACARD (2 SHOTS) 0.11 2. DOG / SUPPORTERS (2 SHOTS) 0.24 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) POPULAR RUSSIAN SINGER AND ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST ELENA KAMBUROVA, SAYING: "You know what this reminds me of? It is like the old story about the government pressing charges against a little boy who carries off two bricks from a brick yard while at the same time closing its eyes to an organised crime ring that is stealing an entire wealth in bricks away in a railroad car. It is just entirely absurd and I am hoping for some common sense." 0.44 4. CU: VETERINARIAN SUPPORTERS WITH PET RAT / GIRL KISSING RAT 0.48 (EU) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MAY 25, 2004) (REUTERS) 5. VETERINARIAN KONSTANTIN SADOVEDOV TREATING CAT IN PET CLINIC 0.59 6. SADOVEDOV PREPARING INJECTION FOR CAT 1.14 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VETERINARIAN KONSTANTIN SADOVEDOV, SAYING: "There really is no alternative to Ketamine. They tell us that we can replace it with another drug, but we can't. If we could have, we would have replaced it long ago and never have used it. Officially, we have had to stop operating on animals. Can you imagine how many animals have suffered because of this? Tens? Hundreds? Thousands? But nobody wants to talk about this. The government narcotics agency doesn't want to talk about this. Any operations that were done, had to be done illegally. If someone did them, then it was at their own risk, like me, for example. Those people carried out operations, fearing that criminal charges would be against them." 1.50 8. VARIOUS OF SADOVEDOV EXAMINING DOG/ CUTAWAY OF DRUGS (3 SHOTS) 2.35 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 9th June 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVADRBNHBZKBS8ZUYZGVIEJS0SA3
- Story Text: Russia's war on drugs snares pet doctors.
Russian authorities have stepped up the war on
drugs, but their new no-tolerance policy has created a
judicial nightmare for ordinary veterinarians who face
criminal charges aimed at shutting away drug-pushers.
A Moscow court on Wednesday (May 26) set a date of June
10 to hear charges against veterinarian Aleksander Duko,
one of five pet doctors busted for the possession of
Ketamine.
Ketamine was listed in Russia as a banned narcotic in
1998. It is commonly abused by drug users and identified
by law enforcement officials as an up and coming club drug.
But for years previously it had been the primary
anaesthesia for pet operations in Russia. The drug is
licensed for use in Russia on humans where it is frequently
used for child dental procedures and is commonly used by
medical officials in the West.
A legal grey area surrounds the licensing of the drug
for use on animals in Russia.
Supporters of the veterinarians facing trial say that
Russian authorities are wasting time and resources tracking
down law-abiding doctors instead of organised drug-rings.
Their cause has been taken up by the popular Russian
signer Elena Kamburova.
"You know what this reminds me of? It is like the old
story about the government pressing charges against a
little boy who carries off two bricks from a brick yard
while at the same time closing its eyes to an organised
crime ring that is stealing an entire wealth in bricks away
in a railroad car. It is just entirely absurd and I am
hoping for some common sense," said Kamburova.
The veterinarians have already won two previous battles,
where prosecutors decided to drop ketamine charges.
Veterinarian Konstantin Sadovedov faced similar charges
after he was busted in a special operation involving an
undercover kitty-cat and narcotics agents posing as
distressed pet owners.
A Moscow court eventually dismissed the case against him
after seven months of legal battles. But he was never
formally acquitted and the use of ketamine was not formally
approved by the court.
To this day, he and other vets face a dilemma of either
carrying out emergency operations without anaesthesia or
risking a jail sentence by using ketamine.
"There really is no alternative to ketamine. They tell
us that we can replace it with another drug, but we can't.
If we could have, we would have replaced it long ago and
never have used it. Officially, we have had to stop
operating on animals. Can you imagine how many animals
have suffered because of this? Tens? Hundreds?
Thousands? But nobody wants to talk about this. The
government narcotics agency doesn't want to talk about
this. Any operations that were done, had to be done
illegally. If someone did them, then it was at their own
risk, like me, for example. Those people carried out
operations, fearing that criminal charges would be against
them," said Samovedov.
Sadovedov and veterinarian organisations are calling on
the Russian government to issue decrees and laws clarifying
the use of ketamine for animal treatment. They say that a
clear, legal ruling is the only guarantee that they will
not once again run afoul of the local narcotics division
for trying to save the life of a cat or dog.
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