Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Liudmyla Denisova appealed to the Ombudswoman of the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova with a request to urgently take measures to ensure the provision of medical care to all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, especially in conditions of coronavirus infection. She announced this via her Facebook page.
“I receive numerous reports from the Crimean Tatars, which are kept in the territory of the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied Crimea, about their placement without any explanation in the punishment cells of correctional colonies and about inappropriate conditions of their detention. In particular, the area of the room for one prisoner does not meet the established standards, there is no hot water, natural and artificial ventilation, there are cockroaches, rats and mice in the cells, and the prison authorities constantly carry out psychological pressure”,- the message outcries.
Denisova noted that the health condition of Shaban Umerov, Rustem Seitkhalilov, Bilyal Adilov, Rustem Sheykhaliev, Enver Ametov, Dzhemil Gafarov and Alim Karimov worsened. In addition, Yashar Muedinov and Raim Ayvazov are subjected to psychological pressure by the administration of a psychiatric hospital during a compulsory forensic psychiatric examination.
“In the context of the COVID-19 infection pandemic, Ukrainian citizens who are illegally detained in the territory of the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied Crimea are still not provided with personal protective equipment, disinfectants and medicines. I emphasize that failure to provide proper conditions of detention can have fatal consequences, because prisoners are the group of greatest risk of getting infected”,- she added.
Liudmyla Denysova calls on the Ombudswoman of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, to take measures to ensure proper conditions of detention and provide medical assistance to all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, and the international community to respond to the systematic ignorance of international law by the Russian Federation and the violation of the rights and freedoms of Crimeans.