Today we are happy to share the story of Victoria T., who was released from a prison (No. 65, Poltava, Ukraine) on September 23.
“Victoria was in the pre-trial detention center of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. The state of her health required urgent intervention by doctors, but the administration refused to bring the necessary specialists, as well as to take her to medical institutions of civilian medicine. Access to medical services was limited,” says Yanina Stemkovskaya, UnMode representative in Ukraine.
Victoria’s independent attempts to achieve a competent medical diagnosis did not bring results, her health was deteriorating. Yanina turned for professional help to the Ukrainian Helsinki Council for Human Rights – UHSPL (Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights). The organization appointed a lawyer, and a long process of collection of necessary documents and certificates began.
“We did manage to take her several times to civil medicine doctors – twice there, and twice in Poltava, otherwise we would not have received those conclusions anywhere that reflected the real picture of her health. The Law says that it’s equal for everyone, but this case showed a number of issues, ”Yanina admits.
In May, Victoria was evacuated from the Donetsk region to Poltava (NEC No. 65), in parallel, work was underway to collect and prepare all documents. On September 14, a court session was held and already on September 23, Victoria went out of jail.
“During the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the quality of life of the prisoners worsened even more in places of punishment, although last year I thought that it couldn’t get any worse. The primary needs like food, medicine and warmth are going first, everything related to the rights protection are postponed for after the war time. Courts (if they are working) are held in an unusual mode, and it is very difficult to predict something. That’s why our client’s victory is so important,” says Yanina.
Comment UnMode:
According to Ukrainian legislation, professional legal assistance can only be provided by persons with a higher legal education and/or the status of a lawyer. We believe that this legislative restriction creates an additional barrier to access to justice and adequate medical care, especially for socially vulnerable categories of citizens.
The development of the state institution of “equal” legal assistance (Para-legal), the empowerment of para-lawyers with independent procedural rights could reduce some barriers to access to justice and bring the formation of democracy closer.