The health of 65-year-old Igor Baryshnikov from the Kaliningrad region, sentenced to seven and a half years in a colony under the article on military 'fakes', is deteriorating in the colony, reported 'OVD-Info'* lawyer Maria Bonzler.
According to the lawyer, a fistula has appeared at the site of the cystostomy, which was installed on the man more than a year ago—an infected channel connecting organs and the body surface. Baryshnikov has also developed a condition similar to chronic cystitis. Additionally, the prisoner's vision is rapidly deteriorating due to prolonged stress. He can hardly see with one eye, and vision in the other has dropped to 50%. Bonzler is convinced that Baryshnikov needs urgent medical intervention to avoid complete blindness.
At the end of September, Igor Baryshnikov underwent surgery at the Kaliningrad Regional Hospital, where he had a prostate adenoma removed. The defense insisted on the operation for at least six months, but the doctors in the colony kept postponing the decision. Only after the UN Human Rights Committee's decision on urgent medical assistance did the doctors perform the operation. However, just a few days later, Baryshnikov was returned to the colony without time for rehabilitation.
In July 2023, Baryshnikov was sentenced to 7.5 years in a colony in the case of military 'fakes', with the charge including the motive of 'political hatred'. The reason was posts about the war in Ukraine.
During the investigation, he was under a travel ban and was caring for his paralyzed 96-year-old mother. After the sentence, she was handed over to the guardianship authorities, and less than a month later, she died. Igor Baryshnikov was not released from the detention center for his mother's funeral.
* Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.
Photo: SOTA