Ukrainian detainee Iryna Navalna denied proper medical care after surgery in Russian detention centre

Iryna Navalna, a Ukrainian abducted and unlawfully sentenced in Russia, underwent intestinal surgery last year, but she is not receiving proper medical care in the Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 3 in Novocherkassk, Russia. Her mother, Oleksandra Stoliar, told ZMINA that her condition is steadily deteriorating. 

Iryna Navalna with her mother. Photo credit: Oleksandra Stoliar

She said that on 21 October 2024, Iryna Navalna underwent intestinal surgery at Tuberculosis Hospital No. 19, run by Russia’s prison service in Rostov. She was operated on only after an inspection commission visited the custodial setting, and she complained to the members about feeling unwell.

“She was then hospitalised and operated on as a matter of urgency. When Iryna was transferred to Novocherkassk, her grandmother visited her. She noticed that she had lost weight and looked pale. Iryna also complained of feeling unwell“, the woman said.

In addition to stomach problems, she developed inflamed lymph nodes, thrombosis of the limbs and severe headaches.

“She now has swelling on the left side of her body, from her shoulder to her chest. My daughter is constantly taking painkillers. Prison medical staff do not even want to take a blood test, although she requires a full medical examination with all necessary tests“, her mother said.

Oleksandra Stoliar said that despite Iryna’s health problems, the prison medical staff refuse to examine or treat her.

“The head of the detention centre informally said he was not responsible for the medical unit and that she should deal with them herself. The medical staff eventually responded and admitted her. But instead of treating her, they simply mocked, insulted and laughed at her“, Stoliar added.

The detainee’s mother also said that no medical documents have been provided, with doctors repeatedly citing medical confidentiality laws.

“The worst part is that despite my daughter’s constant complaints about her condition, she is not receiving any medical care. Russian authorities are ignoring the lawyer’s requests for her examination and hospitalisation”, Stoliar stressed.

On 7 October 2024, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced 26-year-old Iryna Navalna to eight years in prison for allegedly attempting to blow up a polling station during a sham referendum on the annexation of Ukraine’s occupied territories by Russia.

She was charged under articles of Russia’s Criminal Code relating to preparing a terrorist act and illegal possession of explosive devices. Prosecutors had sought a 14-year sentence, but the Russian court sentenced her to eight years in a general-regime penal colony.

According to Russian occupation investigators, on 27 September 2022, Navalna transported an improvised explosive device weighing more than one kilogram by bicycle to a polling station at the Prymorskyi District administration in Mariupol. She allegedly hid the device in the ruins of a building and returned for a remote control to activate it. She was detained by the occupying forces at that time.

Russian security services claim she acted on instructions from the Security Service of Ukraine.

Earlier, Iryna’s mother, Oleksandra Stoliar, told ZMINA that her daughter was the first in the family to leave the occupied city, travelling through Russia to territory under Ukrainian government control. During the so-called “filtration” procedure, the occupiers took issue with her surname and mocked her.

In late August, Navalna returned to occupied Mariupol to be with her grandmother, who had been calling her constantly and saying she could not cope without her.

On the morning of 27 September, Iryna Navalna left home, and all contact with her was lost. Oleksandra later learned of her daughter’s detention from Russian propaganda media. According to her mother, she was initially held for two weeks in a detention centre in Donetsk together with convicted criminal prisoners. She was later transferred to a cell with Ukrainian women serving in the military. Her mother says Iryna was severely beaten and had numerous bruises as a result. 

You may also want to read: From “soft power” to torture chambers: patterns of Russia’s seizure of new states based on Ukraine’s experience

During the trial, Navalna spoke about the torture she had endured and said that Russian security services had forced her to confess and said the case against her had been fabricated.

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