Document #2102686
RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Author)
By Current Time
Russian anti-war activist Igor Baryshnikov, who was sentenced in late June to 7 1/2 years in prison on a charge of spreading "fake" information about Russian armed forces involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine, must be urgently provided with medical assistance, his lawyers say.
One of the lawyers, Roman Morozov, said on December 28 that he visited Baryshnikov in prison the day before, stressing that the 64-year-old activist has a number of serious medical problems.
According to Morozov, his client is unable to eat, to sit, and experiences excruciating pain and discomfort when urinating.
Furthermore, Morozov said, Baryshnikov's hands turned black after he contracted a fungal disease in prison.
Morozov also said that Baryshnikov complained that medical personnel in the prison had not provided him with necessary medicine and painkillers.
Another lawyer, Maria Bontsler, told OVD-Info rights group that prison guards do not allow visitors to have telephones with them when entering the prison and therefore it is impossible to take pictures of Baryshnikov's body to document his medical condition.
Bontsler said earlier that Baryshnikov had been diagnosed with prostatic hyperplasia, a tumor due to which he had to have a catheter inserted in his abdomen to drain urine.
The catheter needs to be changed once a month, an operation that the prison's medical personnel, according to Baryshnikov, perform without painkillers.
Failure to properly change the catheter may damage Baryshnikov's kidneys and lead to his death, Bontsler said.
The charges against Baryshnikov stemmed from his online posts about the Russian military's alleged atrocities against Ukrainian civilians, and Ukrainian troops' gains during the ongoing war.
Baryshnikov was also barred from attending the funeral of his 97-year-old mother, who died while he was in jail.
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