By Peter.
French anaesthetist Frédéric Péchier has been sentenced to life imprisonment for deliberately poisoning 30 patients at private clinics in Besançon between 2008 and 2017, resulting in the deaths of 12 individuals.
A court in Besançon, eastern France, convicted the 53-year-old on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, after a 15-week trial. Péchier was found guilty of intentionally contaminating infusion bags with lethal doses of potassium chloride or local anaesthetics, triggering cardiac arrests or severe hemorrhaging during routine surgeries.
Victims ranged from a four-year-old child (who survived two cardiac arrests during tonsil surgery in 2016) to an 89-year-old. Prosecutors branded him “Doctor Death,” accusing him of turning clinics into “graveyards” and bringing shame to the medical profession.
First investigated in 2017, Péchier—once considered a respected colleague—had been under judicial supervision throughout the trial. He will serve a minimum of 22 years before parole eligibility.
Péchier maintains his innocence, insisting: “I am not a poisoner… I have always upheld the Hippocratic oath.” He has 10 days to appeal, which would trigger a new trial within approximately one year.
The case, one of France’s most shocking medical scandals, involved over 60 suspected poisoning incidents initially probed, with 30 ultimately charged.
#FrédéricPéchier #DoctorDeath #FranceTrial #MedicalPoisoning #Besançon #JusticeServed #HippocraticOath #FrenchCourt
