Political prisoner Volodymyr Iakymenko, who was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison for allegedly transporting drugs, described the conditions of his stay in a regional prison hospital in the Saratov Region, Russia. According to him, the institution practices attempts of physical and sexual violence, moral pressure, failure to provide medical care and labor exploitation. The corresponding video was published by Ihor Kotelianets, the head of “The Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin”.
According to Kotelianets, they sent Volodymyr to the hospital a few days ago, after information about his illegal detention of the Russian Federation became known to the media.
“We were forced to sign the paper to Lieutenant Colonel Hatsenko, claiming, that everything was fine, that there was no psychological and physical pressure”,- Volodymyr said.
“When will you, banderists, finally hang on our brothers’ from DPR gallows?”, “Khokhol (a pejorative/derogatory term for the Ukrainians), go and load some concrete”,- this is how Volodymyr is addressed in the prison hospital. This is demonstrated by the video message of the political prisoner, which was published by Ihor Kotelianets.
We remind that on June 11, 2017, Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Iakymenko was detained when he crossed the administrative border with the occupied Crimea. The man was accused of transporting drugs. A Kremlin-controlled court in Crimea sentenced him to 15.5 years in prison under Article 229.1 p. 4, p. 3, Article 30 p. 5, Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.