Police have detained a suspect in the death of a drug addict undergoing treatment with the controversial Gorod Bez Narkotikov foundation, the Investigative Committee said on Thursday.

Police alleged that the Yekaterinburg resident, Igor Shabalin, 34, was involved in the illegal treatment of addicts as part of the foundation’s radical program, which often includes total isolation of patients while they overcome withdrawal symptoms.

He is also suspected of coercing witnesses to provide false testimony.

The deceased patient, Tatyana Kazantseva, 29, was an addict placed in the one of the foundation's rehabilitation centers earlier this year. She complained of feeling sick on June 10 and seven days later was taken to hospital where she died. According to a spokesman for the fund, Kazantseva died from meningitis.

Following her death, several criminal cases were opened against the fund over abuse and deaths of addicts undergoing treatment.

A court later ordered Kazantseva's remains to be exhumed so that an autopsy could be performed.

Controversial anti-drug crusader Yevgeny Roizman and his supporters have claimed Russia's healthcare establishment is using the case as a pretext to crack down on the group.

© RIA Novosti.

The physiology of drug withdrawal