Russia Concern for imprisoned Russian historian Dmitriev

SDA

28.1.2025 - 18:31

ARCHIVE - Yuri Dmitriev, human rights activist and historian from Russia, speaks to journalists outside a court. Photo: Vladimir Larionov/AP/dpa/Archive photo
ARCHIVE - Yuri Dmitriev, human rights activist and historian from Russia, speaks to journalists outside a court. Photo: Vladimir Larionov/AP/dpa/Archive photo
Keystone

According to the human rights organization Memorial, Russian historian Yuri Dmitriev, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, is not receiving adequate medical care despite suffering from cancer. His condition is a cause for increasing concern, Memorial announced on Dmitriev's 69th birthday. The lack of medical treatment is making the situation increasingly worse. Dmitriyev is considered a political prisoner because he once publicized crimes committed under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and thus made enemies within the power apparatus.

Keystone-SDA

Memorial complained that tissue samples from the patient requested by doctors after a blood test had inexplicably disappeared. In addition, prescribed medication had only worsened Dmitriev's condition, who has a number of health problems. Adequate medical care for him is urgently needed, it said.

Human rights activist is considered a victim of Russian judicial arbitrariness

The EU has long been calling for the release of the scientist, who is considered a victim of Russian judicial arbitrariness, not least on humanitarian grounds due to his age and illnesses. Many supporters were surprised that Dmitriev was not released last year during an exchange of political prisoners between Russia and the West. Political prisoners also repeatedly die in Russian prison camps, such as the Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny almost a year ago.

Dmitriev, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2021 for allegedly abusing his stepdaughter, is being held in the IK-18 penal camp in Potma in the Mordovia region more than 500 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The EU assumes that Dmitriyev's prosecution was triggered by his human rights work and his research into political repression during the Soviet era. According to human rights activists, the heavy sentence is also intended as a warning signal to other researchers.