Ukrainian human rights defenders call for a response to the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of the Kremlin in russian prisons

Ukrainian human rights defenders call to respond to the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of the Kremlin in russian places of deprivation of liberty, to conduct an investigation and impose personal sanctions against those involved. According to the Head of the Board of CrimeaSOS, Oleksii Tilnenko, the joint statement of human rights organizations, containing this information, was published today.

“Two victims of politically motivated persecution in Crimea died this week due to lack of proper medical care in russian in places of deprivation of liberty. On February 7, it became known about the death of Kostiantyn Shyring. On February 10, lawyer Lilia Hemedzhi reported the death of 60-year-old Dzhemil Hafarov”, — said Oleksii Tilnenko.

In 2020, Kostiantyn Shyring was detained in Crimea and deprived of liberty on charges of alleged participation in a “Ukrainian intelligence and sabotage group”. Dzhemil Hafarov was imprisoned in 2019 for allegedly participating in the activities of a “terrorist organization”. Both men had health problems and did not receive medical care while being in prison. 

Kostiantyn Shyring had cardiovascular diseases and had to take prescribed medication, which was known to the colony’s administration. Despite this, he did not receive medical care and was kept in cold and damp cells.

At the time of imprisonment, Dzhemil Hafarov had the third group of disabilities due to heart disease. Despite this, he was constantly denied the mitigation of the preventive measure. Due to ignoring his health condition and failure to provide medical assistance, Hafarov suffered a heart attack in the pre-trial detention centre and received the second group of disability.

Ukrainian human rights organizations condemn the criminal actions of representatives of the occupation administration of Crimea and the authorities of the russian federation and put forward a number of demands. You may read the full text of the statement containing the list of demands of Ukrainian human rights defenders at the link.