Kremlin prisoner Rustem Huhuryk is not receiving medical care in a Russian penal colony and is being denied the opportunity to file a complaint about this violation

The administration of Penal Colony No. 8 in Ulan-Ude (Buryatia, Russian Federation) is denying Crimean political prisoner Rustem Huhuryk medical care and depriving him of the opportunity to file a complaint about this violation of basic human rights.

Viktoriia, the wife of the Kremlin prisoner, shared this information with ZMINA.

Rustem Huhuryk with his wife Viktoriia (archive photo). Source: family archive

The Crimean Tatar had health problems even before his imprisonment, and in captivity, without proper treatment, his condition has deteriorated to a critical level.

The man suffers from constant shortness of breath, severe stomach pain after every meal, has serious dental problems and has completely lost his hearing in one ear. Despite his health condition, he was sent to solitary confinement three times in 2024 alone. Human rights defenders consider this to be one of the manifestations of repression against him.

“Even the Russian lawyer who visited him said that Rustem needs urgent medical treatment“, said the wife of the Kremlin prisoner.

According to the latest information she received, her husband underwent some tests, but he was not informed of the results. He also said that he could now barely hear with his other, supposedly healthy ear.

“We have been fighting for three years to get him exchanged. No one there will provide medical treatment, even to those who need immediate medical care“, said Viktoriia.

As a reminder, the occupiers arrested Rustem Huhuryk on 27 March 2022 on charges of participating in the Noman Çelebicihan volunteer battalion. On 26 October 2022, the man was sentenced to 8.5 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

The political prisoner’s health has been deteriorating since last November. According to his wife, he was being held in a cell with 74 other people at the time.

In Russian captivity, the political prisoner lost hearing in one ear and suffers from shortness of breath.

Earlier, ZMINA reported that the health condition of Crimean political prisoner Rustem Huhuryk, who has been held by the Russians for a year in Penal Colony No. 8 in Ulan-Ude (Buryatia), is critical. Medical care is either provided late or completely absent.