31 March 2026

While in Russian captivity, Irina Danilovich is being deliberately killed

(Iryna Danylovych. PHOTO: crimean-process.org)

The sister of the convicted Crimean activist and journalist Irina Danilovich described the appalling conditions under which she is being held in a Russian prison. According to her, employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation "are deliberately trying to kill the activist."

This was reported by Irina’s sister, Olga Novitskaya.

According to Novitskaya, Danilovich’s medical record states that she should not be exposed to high noise levels. However, despite this, some of the colony’s staff on duty play music at extremely high volume from morning to evening. According to her sister, Irina cannot stand it—the music causes her severe pain and “tears her brain apart.”

Novitskaya added that she had contacted the Stavropol Krai Federal Penitentiary Service, but the response varied: some officers on duty turned off the music speaker, while others denied that the music was playing or simply ignored the calls.

Earlier, Iryna Danilovych herself reported that prisoners were subjected to so-called “traceless” torture—bright lights and extremely loud music. Following these statements, an inspection was conducted at the colony, but no violations were found, her sister said.

Iryna Danilovych worked as a nurse, was a journalist, covered issues in the healthcare system in Crimea, and shared information about the war in Ukraine. Before the full-scale invasion, she collaborated with several media and human rights initiatives (InZhyr Media, Crimean Process) and ran her own project, Crimean Medicine Without a Cover, where she disseminated information about the rights of healthcare workers.

The occupiers detained Iryna Danylovych on April 29, 2022, while she was traveling from Koktebel to Feodosia on her way home from work. The Russian occupiers charged Danilovich with working “with explosives.”

On December 28, 2022, the occupation court in Feodosia sentenced Danilovych to seven years in prison on charges of illegal possession and manufacture of explosives. Danilovych pleaded not guilty.

In March 2023, it became known that Iryna Danilovych lost consciousness while being transported to the occupation Feodosia City Court. Despite the fact that her health was rapidly deteriorating, the Simferopol Detention Center issued documents stating that there were no medical obstacles to her transfer. After that, she went on a hunger strike.

On April 6, the journalist ended her hunger strike in response to a promise to transfer her from the Simferopol Detention Center to a clinic for examination and treatment in the coming days. On June 29, the occupying Supreme Court of Crimea amended the sentence of citizen journalist and activist Irina Danilovich, who had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of possessing an explosive device. According to the appellate court’s ruling, the sentence was reduced by one month.

In November of last year, it was reported that Danilovich was being held in unsanitary conditions and was not receiving proper medical care.

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