A person sentenced to 12 years in the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” case spoke about having dental problems in the penal colony.

Vadim Siruk, who was sentenced to 12 years in the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” case, has spoken about dental problems in the penal colony. This was reported by “Crimean Solidarity,” citing the prisoner’s wife, Anna Bogachyova.

Siruk said that in nine years of imprisonment, his teeth have only been treated once. On that occasion, the Crimean man had crowns fitted, but due to their poor quality “food gets stuck under them, and the inflammation continues.” The prisoner’s teeth are breaking down and falling out. There is no dentist in the penal colony, so problematic teeth are simply extracted. “We have appealed to the administration of the colony to hire a doctor as soon as possible. But they don’t seem to be in any hurry,” Bogachyova said.

Vadim Siruk and five other Crimean residents were detained in April 2016 in Yalta, a city on the Crimean peninsula. They were soon placed in a pre-trial detention centre. In November 2019, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don handed down sentences to all six defendants. Siruk received a 12-year sentence in a high-security colony for alleged involvement in the activities of an organisation designated as terrorist (Part 2, Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code), and for preparation for the violent seizure of power (Article 278 in conjunction with Part 1 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code).

He is currently being held in Penal Colony No. 2 in Salavat, a city in Bashkortostan, in the Urals.