The Zemgale Appeal Court plans to review the appeal against the first-instance court's verdict on February 5, 2026, in a written process, in which the head of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) of the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (CUMS) Robert Furmanis and several other medical professionals were acquitted in the case of beating a man at an event in 2014, the LETA agency learned from the court.
Earlier, the first-instance court found the defendants not guilty and acquitted them, leaving the claims for compensation for material damage in the amount of 134 euros and moral damage in the amount of 5000 euros unaddressed.
According to the publicly available court calendar, the defendants are Furmanis, Arturs Shons, Santis Podans, Rustam Yunusov, and Valdis Skotelis. All of them are accused of intentionally causing moderate bodily harm, committed by a group of individuals.
For such a crime, the Criminal Law provides for a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years, probation supervision, community service, or a monetary fine. The case was submitted to the court at the end of 2020.
This summer, Furmanis became the head of the Clinical University Hospital's Emergency Medical Service (CUMS). Previously, he headed the Zemgale Regional Center of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and was also the vice president of the Latvian Medical Association (LMA). He has been working in medicine for 21 years.
The other three defendants were working as paramedics in the EMS at the time the case was transferred, while the fourth was an anesthesiologist.
The charges are related to events in 2014 when the defendants were at an event with colleagues in the Jelgava region, where they consumed alcohol.
According to the prosecution, an unexpected man arrived at the place of rest to pick up his wife. A conflict arose between him and the defendants, during which one of the defendants, angered by the man's interference in the event, struck him twice in the face, as confirmed by the prosecutor's office to the LETA agency.
After that, the man was taken outside the event venue. Already outside, the defendants beat the victim, kicking him in the body. They then pushed him into a ditch, after which the defendants left the scene, according to the indictment.
Furmanis declined to comment on the charges to the LETA agency, only stating that he does not admit his guilt.
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