A Russian beauty queen who was “disfigured for life” during plastic surgery that cost £3,000 claims she has been denied justice.

Yulia Tarasevich, who won runner-up in the Mrs Russia International contest four years ago, was left “unable to close her eyes or smile.” The surgeon who performed Mrs Tarasevich’s surgery was convicted of negligence and sentenced to three years of “‘restricted freedom,” however he was freed due to the statute of limitations.

Ms Tarasevich, 45, has only received a tiny fraction of the £300,000 she claimed in compensation for the 2020 blunder. She said: “Our legislation in Russia is strange because he disfigured me for life and the surgeon was prosecuted for three years. If at the end of these three years, my face had returned to the way it was before, I would say: ‘Oh well.'”

She added: “I think the violators know that if they stall for time, they will get away with it.” Surgeon Andrey Komarov, of Merits Clinic, was convicted of “infliction of grievous bodily harm through negligence, committed as a result of improper performance by a person of his professional duties.”

The court granted the victim £8,600 compensation but the sentence – three years of “restricted freedom” – did not come into effect because too much time had elapsed. The surgeon, Mr Komarov was free to go from court and can continue to act as a surgeon.

Mrs Tarasevich said: “I came to them with a beautiful, healthy face. I just wanted to correct some nuances caused by ageing, but sadly I lost my health.”

The mother-of-two, from Sochi, was “disfigured” during facelift surgery, a blepharoplasty of the eyelids, and reduction of fat in her cheeks, she said. During the surgery in Krasnodar, Mrs Tarasevich said her face became badly swollen and inflamed. She had emergency follow-up surgery by another doctor to save her eyes from necrosis, she said in a complaint which triggered criminal action.

She told Russian Channel 1: “I have scars that formed in my cheeks when they ripped out all my tissue. My eyes don’t close and and I can’t smile. “I can’t lift my upper lip. One part of my face doesn’t work at all. I went quietly to the operation, firstly, because all my tests were in order.

Secondly, because I had plastic surgery before this, I did rhinoplasty, and it went perfectly for me, without any genetic abnormalities.” Komarov’s clinic had claimed Yulia had a rare genetic condition, which was impossible to predict, and denied responsibility for her nightmare.

After the verdict she said: “I am now getting used to having photos taken without smiling and I’m learning to choose different angles.” The beauty contest was linked to a US pageant – Mrs International.