Sergei Obodenko's wife reports sharp deterioration in his condition

The cassation court refused to release paralyzed disabled person Sergei Obodenko from a penal colony in the Volgograd region, although the convict's condition has seriously worsened. The convict is deprived of medical care and hygiene; such conditions are equivalent to torture, the defense stated.  

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, disabled person Sergei Obodenko, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was denied release from a penal colony in the Volgograd region. The court ignored a medical report that Obodenko's illness prevented him from being held in custody. On April 18, the convict was transferred from the penal colony to Correctional Medical Institution (LIU) No. 15, where he waited for more than two months for a key examination that could confirm the progressive nature of his illness. At the end of July, Obodenko was returned from the medical facility to the colony without explanation, without ever having been given a medical examination.

On July 24, Svetlana Obodenko returned from a long visit with her husband to IK-26 and reported his critical health condition. On the same day, she filed a complaint with the FSIN and the prosecutor's office, stating that Sergei Obodenko's conditions of detention were tantamount to torture. At the same time, the lawyer filed a complaint in Obodenko's interests with the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.

Svetlana Obodenko attached photographs to her statement confirming the condition of the convicted disabled person: Obodenko's body is covered in a bright red rash.

"I tried for a long time to get a long meeting with Sergei, and when I got it and came to see him, I was shocked by the condition he was in. In addition to the main illness, he developed a severe rash all over his body, presumably due to an allergy to the drug that he continues to be given for the main illness. All this is accompanied by excruciating itching. He cannot wash normally because the unit does not have conditions for disabled people, this is real torture. That is, they do not treat him or even provide emergency assistance, but simply cripple him," Svetlana told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her, doctors gave Obodenko an anticonvulsant drug, to which he had an acute skin reaction. After complaints and attempts to refuse the drug, he was sent back to the medical correctional institution (LIU-15), where they continued to give him the same drug. In response to the deterioration of his condition, no qualified medical care was provided.

“I smeared him from head to toe in the colony with the ointment that the paramedic gave me. It did not help, he scratched himself until he bled, suffered from heat, pain and weakness. One injection of “Dexamethasone”, given after our consultation with a doctor on the outside, helped, but the head of the medical unit refused to continue the course, citing the lack of a doctor's prescription. Although it became obvious that he felt better from this medicine,” Svetlana said.

According to Svetlana Obodenko, her husband is practically paralyzed: he moves around in a wheelchair, his arms are weak and he cannot get to the shower on his own. At the same time, the showers are not equipped with handrails or adapted structures.

“He tried to wash himself once, but fell and hurt himself. Since then, he has been afraid to go there. His hygienic condition is terrible. The colony administration does not respond to requests to create safe conditions,” the woman said.

Lawyer Sergey Yanovsky on July 24 filed a complaint with the Department for Supervision of the Execution of Punishments of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. In it, he claims that the medical staff of IK-26 and LIU-15 systematically ignore the appointments and needs of the seriously ill prisoner.

“Obodenko suffers from a serious illness that requires regular specialized treatment, including courses of therapy with drugs that inhibit the development of multiple sclerosis. The last consultation with a specialized neurologist was back in December 2024. The medical unit of the colony, in fact, withdrew from treatment. The head of the medical unit refused to organize an examination and treatment, citing a shortage of doctors,” the complaint says, a copy of which is at the disposal of the “Caucasian Knot”.

According to the defense, the refusal to provide assistance may be motivated by personal hostility: the head of the medical unit had previously been brought to disciplinary responsibility after complaints from Obodenko. “Refusing to continue treatment with a drug that improved his condition in such a situation can be considered a form of revenge,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer's complaint emphasizes that the actions of the officials of the Medical and Sanitary Unit No. 34 and the administration of IK-26 violate the norms of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, the Constitution and international legal acts that guarantee the prohibition of cruel and degrading treatment. The defense demands that an investigation be conducted into the facts of failure to provide medical care, that Obodenko be provided with qualified examination and treatment, that obstacles to personal hygiene be eliminated and that the conditions of detention in IK-26 be adapted to the needs of the disabled person.

“On July 24, we learned that the cassation instance, at our request to release my husband due to the impossibility of keeping him in the colony, upheld the refusals of the lower courts. The only thing left to complain to is the Supreme Court, but we have no more time: the disease is progressing, and treatment is not being provided. “No legal or moral norms should allow a disabled person to literally rot alive in a penal colony,” said Svetlana Obodenko.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.