Urgent Action: IMPRISONED NURSE MAY FULLY LOSE HEARING (Russia 28.23)

Irina Danilovich, a nurse and human rights activist, was abducted by security officers in Russian-occupied Crimea in April 2022 and sentenced to seven years imprisonment following an unfair trial. She has been denied access to the healthcare she required for acute ear pain. She was recently transferred to a penal colony in Russia’s Stavropol Region, and has been denied a medical examination despite the risk of complete hearing loss.  

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• 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.
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contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Human Rights Commissioner, 

I am deeply concerned for nurse Irina Danilovich, who has been transferred to the prison colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Stavropol Region, following an unfair trial and conviction on false charges. She was arbitrarily detained and then wrongfully convicted, following an unfair trial in Crimea in December 2022, in retribution for her criticism of the healthcare system and for exposing corruption.

Irina Danilovich had been complaining of acute ear pain and headaches for months before her transfer but was not provided with the necessary medical care. Irina Danilovich staged a hunger strike in March 2023 in protest at the denial of healthcare, after which she was taken to hospital where doctors ordered further medical examinations and treatment. However, the penitentiary authorities at the SIZO-1 detention center continued to deny her the healthcare she required. Her condition has deteriorated since her transfer to prison colony No. 7, but the medical personnel in the colony refuse to examine her. Irina Danilovich is already partially deaf and may lose her remaining hearing unless she urgently receives the treatment she requires. Denying a prisoner the healthcare they require may amount to torture or other ill-treatment.

I urge you to release Irina Danilovich immediately and unconditionally; provide her with access to the healthcare she requires; ensure accountability for those responsible for her detention and denial of medical care.

Yours sincerely,  

[YOUR NAME]

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