MOSCOW, June 30 (RAPSI) – Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld prison sentence given to three medical employees of the Vishnevsky Third Central Military Clinical Hospital for taking bribes, the court’s press service told RAPSI on Friday.

On February 7, the Moscow District Military court found defendants guilty of corruption and sentenced them to various prison terms.

The hospital’s deputy head Sergey Svistunov has been sentenced to 9 years in high security prison, fined 4 million rubles (about $68,000) and stripped of his Colonel rank and prohibited from holding key positions in health care providing institutions for 6 years. Chief of one of the hospital departments Dmitry Mokritsky received a 5-year prison term plus 2-million-rubles fine ($34,000). He was also deprived of a right to hold key posts in medical organizations for 3 years. The third defendant, head of admitting office Avetis Melkonyan, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 3.5 years in high security prison. They appealed the ruling.

Prosecutors earlier asked to give 12 years in high security prison and 8-million rubles ($135,400) fine to Svistunov, 9 years in prison and 2.5-million rubles ($42,300) fine to Mokritsky, and 7 years in jail plus 2.5-million rubles fine to Melkonyan.

According to investigators, the accused persons took bribes from patients ranging from 30,000 (about $510) to 350,000 rubles (about $6,000). The court found that Svistunov had used his official position for committing the crime. During the trial Svistunov and Mokritsky has pleaded not guilty.