Journalist Olga Komleva has lost the ability to speak in the pre-trial detention centre.

Journalist Olga Komleva has lost her ability to speak while in pre-trial detention. This was reported by the outlet Aspekty and her support group.

The detainee has been unable to speak since 8 September—almost a month and a half. Olga had previously experienced episodes of lost speech, but, according to her, these did not last for more than seven hours. The journalist said: “Even during a visit with my husband, I had to write on a piece of paper. Remand centre staff and paramedics just shrug. No one knows how the court hearing on 28 October will proceed.”

The detainee links the loss of her speech to harassment by staff at the pre-trial detention centre: “One touch here in remand centre No. 5 in Dyurtyuli, a city in Bashkortostan, overlapped with previous incidents back in Ufa. And since that day, my speech has been gone.”

Olga Komleva is being prosecuted under articles on ‘military fakes’ and cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). In July, she was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony. The case was considered behind closed doors. Olga had previously reported harassment by detention centre staff. Before her arrest, Olga worked for the RusNews outlet and volunteered with the Navalny campaign team in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan.