Russia: Crimean Journalist Iryna Danylovych In Critical Condition

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns harassment of unjustly imprisoned Danylovych, urges immediate access to vital medical care

Location:  Russia, Krasnodar
Date: October 10, 2023

Crimean journalist Iryna Danilovych, who has been held in detention by Russian authorities since April 2022, is facing a deteriorating health condition. An independent examination has recently revealed that she is suffering from cerebral lesions and neurological disorders, raising serious concerns about her well-being. The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns the ongoing harassment endured by Danylovych. We are deeply concerned about her condition and demand that she be granted immediate access to the essential medical care she urgently requires.

Journalist Iryna Danilovych, who has been held captive by Russian authorities since April 2022, has been found to be in a critical state of health. An independent examination conducted recently has unveiled the presence of cerebral lesions and neurological disorders, further exacerbating concerns surrounding her well-being.

According to Bronislav Danylovych, the father of imprisoned Ukrainian citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych, his daughter was transferred to correctional colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Stavropol Territory. He expressed concern as the prison administration allegedly refused to provide Iryna with her prescribed pain medication for an ear condition. According to Mr. Danylovych, Iryna has experienced a complete loss of hearing in her left ear.

Upon arrival at the Zelenokumsk colony, a medical staff member reportedly confiscated Iryna's medication, callously asserting that the pain would diminish once she became "deaf." 

On March 22, the CFWIJ was informed by sources close to Danylovych that the journalist had gone on a dry hunger strike and demanded an end to the ill-treatment. 

On March 21, Danylovych fainted while being transported to the “Feodosia City Court”, but an ambulance was not called for her. Also, in December 2022, during the debates in the "court", she felt bad but an emergency doctor who arrived in court falsified the conclusion, noting that Danylovych voluntarily refused to be hospitalized. 

After the abduction on April 29, 2022, imprisonment, and the fabrication of the criminal case, Iryna Danylovych almost lost her hearing, constantly has headaches, problems with coordination of movements, and believes that she had at least one micro stroke in prison. Instead of providing medical aid, "authorities" of the pre-trial detention center told her: "cut your veins" and refused to call for an independent doctor.

On December 28, 2022, the court in the Russian-controlled city of Feodosia, Crimea, ruled that civic journalist Iryna Danylovych violated Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The court ruled Danylovych guilty of “illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, shipment, or carrying of explosives or explosive devices''. In addition, Danylovych must also pay a fine of 50,000 Russian rubles.

Iryna Danylovych has been exposing inadequacies in the health care system in Crimea through media as well as her own project “Crimean medicine without a cover”. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she revealed information about how health care management manipulated statistics in order not to give health care workers additional compensation they were entitled to for handling coronavirus patients.  

According to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), ZMINA Human Rights Centre, and several other human rights organizations, the case is politically motivated. The real motive for Danylovych’s persecution is the journalist's comments on the state of the health care system in the occupied territory. Danylovych has worked to protect the rights of medical workers. These actions rendered the journalist an anti-government target.

The accusations in Danylovych’s case are based on the testimonies of obscure witnesses and the conclusion of experts deliberately complying with the Russian security forces. The case is considered in gross violation of international law. Such tactics are deliberately enforced by the Russian Federation as a demonstration of the fight against the political beliefs of people in the occupied Crimea.

With the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia in 2014, human rights have suffered severe consequences. Freedom of speech is under vicious attack and its defenders are viewed as traitors. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, the situation has deteriorated even further. 15 journalists, including 13 citizen journalists, are currently behind bars on the peninsula.  

Danylovych’s life turned upside down, when she was abducted seemingly by the occupational authorities while returning home from work in April, 2022. Shortly after she went missing, unidentified men reached her family home in unmarked cars and conducted a search. The raid party told Danylovych’s family that the journalist was being detained for 10 days on allegations of sending information to a foreign country.

This situation shows that anyone who unearths the truth and speaks it, is a target of the Russian occupational authorities in Crimea. The authorities act with bulletproof impunity while they play with people’s lives. Danylovych’s case is a testimony to how dangerous the activities of journalists in Crimea are and simultaneously how crucial their work is. The dissemination of independent, objective information and unbiased rhetoric about events on the peninsula is a vital public service.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism greatly appreciates the tremendous work Danylovych has done in putting justice and democracy first while well aware of the cost. We view the sentence and ill-treatment of the journalist legal, politically motivated and criminal. We demand that Iryna Danylovych's sentence is effectively annulled. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.