Moscow Rehab Center Owner Arrested Following Abuse Accusations
Russian law enforcement authorities said Friday that they arrested the owner of a private rehab center outside Moscow following accusations that minors there were subjected to physical abuse, one of whom was hospitalized in critical condition.
Anna Khobotova, a self-described psychotherapist, lawyer and human rights advocate, runs a network of rehabilitation centers for troubled adolescents in and around Moscow, the Sverdlovsk region and the Rostov region.
The centers claim to treat a wide range of issues, including behavioral problems, mental health disorders, screen addiction and substance abuse.
Khobotova gained widespread media attention this week after police investigators said a 16-year-old resident of her Moscow region rehab was hospitalized with multiple injuries to his head, torso and limbs, as well as marks consistent with being bound at the wrists and ankles.
The center’s administrator was charged with torture, illegal detention of minors and other crimes. An 18-year-old resident of the center was placed under house arrest until Jan. 22, 2026, on accusations of participating in the abuse.
Police in central Russia’s Sverdlovsk region have also launched a criminal investigation into the illegal detention of minors after discovering a similar privately run rehab center there.
The Sverdlovsk region Interior Ministry said the children, who showed no signs of physical abuse during an initial visual examination, would be placed in a nearby state-run child center while doctors conduct a more thorough assessment. It did not indicate whether it was pursuing criminal charges.
According to the Kommersant business newspaper, one of the Sverdlovsk center’s teenage residents claimed that they had been beaten and deprived of food.
On Friday, the Moscow region branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had arrested the “organizer” of the rehab center and was questioning her as part of the criminal case. It did not refer to Khobotova by name.
Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Khobotova, 37, on Thursday without disclosing the charges against her.
