• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: IMPRISONED NURSE’S CONDITION DETERIORATES (Russian Federation: UA 28.23)

August 1, 2023

Irina Danilovich, a nurse and human rights activist from Russian-occupied Crimea is still being denied healthcare. She was abducted by Russian security officials in April 2022 and sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2022 following an unfair trial. Her condition has gravely deteriorated, and she has almost completely lost her hearing due to ongoing ear inflammation. The authorities’ denial of adequate healthcare and other ill-treatment during Irina Danilovich’s incarceration has caused her condition to deteriorate and put her life at risk.

TAKE ACTION:

  1. Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on August 28th, 2023.
  2. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  3. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Second Urgent Action 28.23. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tatiana Mosklakova
Human Rights Commissioner
Smolensky Boulevard, 19, C 2
119121 Moscow
Russian Federation
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Human Rights Commissioner,

I am writing to ask you to take urgent action in support of nurse Irina Danilovich. She has been arbitrarily detained following an unfair trial in Crimea in December 2022, in retribution for her criticism of the healthcare system and for exposing corruption. She was initially sentenced to seven years in prison. The sentence was reduced by one month following an appeal in June 2023, but her wrongful conviction was upheld.

During her appeal, the court dismissed her request to postpone the hearing on account of her poor health, insisting that she was fit to attend. Irina Danilovich was made to attend the hearing online despite the difficulties in following the proceedings due to her hearing problems.

Irina Danilovich is currently held in Simferopol’s detention centre SIZO-1, where she has been suffering from severe ear pain and headaches for months. The prison authorities have denied her adequate healthcare and she has now lost most of her hearing. Irina Danilovich was taken to hospital where doctors ordered further medical examinations and treatment in March 2023, following her hunger strike protesting the denial of healthcare. However, the authorities have continued to deny her access to the healthcare she requires, which may amount to torture or other ill-treatment.

The authorities’ denial of adequate healthcare and other ill-treatment during Irina Danilovich’s incarceration has caused her condition to deteriorate and put her life at risk.

I urge you to take all steps within your authority to ensure that Irina Danilovich:

– is released immediately and unconditionally, acquitted and cleared of any trumped-up charges;

– pending her release, she is urgently provided with adequate healthcare and is protected from torture and other ill-treatment;

– all those responsible for the conditions of her detention and denial of medical care are held accountable, in fair-trial proceedings.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES