Lawyers Call Tumgoev's Denial of Medical Care Illegal

The refusal to provide medical care to Timur Tumgoev, a native of Vladikavkaz, who is serving a sentence in a Vologda colony, violates the law and creates torture-like conditions of detention, lawyers said.

"Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote that the administration of a colony in the Vologda region does not allow Timur Tumgoev, a native of Vladikavkaz, an Ingush convicted in a case of participation in military operations in Syria, to call a lawyer and does not provide medical care. The prisoner's sister was not allowed to meet with him, since Tumgoev was placed in a punishment cell. In protest, Tumgoev went on a hunger strike and swallowed several metal objects, including a blade, a needle and bolts, and also mutilated himself. Vladikavkaz native Timur Tumgoev, placed in a punishment cell in a Vologda colony, has lost a lot of weight and still does not receive medical care, his lawyer said. The pressure on Tumgoev in the colony may be due to his religion, the article, and the operational interest of the FSB, the human rights activist believes.

Timur Tumgoev's lawyer, Mikhail Mikheev, told the "Caucasian Knot" that although he had sent complaints about his client's situation, neither he nor Tumgoev's sister Marina had yet received any response.

"Unfortunately, I have no way to contact him promptly - the colony does not allow him to call me, although calls to lawyers from the penal colony are usually allowed, so I have no information about his current condition. At the same time, when we last spoke, Timur himself did not know when his term in the punishment cell would end, since he was not informed about it," the lawyer noted.

Mikheev also noted that although the colony has a medical unit by status, the assistance there, according to Tumgoev, is of a rather formal nature. "There is paramedic, but according to Timur, when you come to him with complaints, they give you a paracetamol tablet and say, “Everything is fine,” the lawyer concluded.

Lawyer Timur Filippov noted that the procedure for providing assistance to prisoners, including those in the punishment cell, is regulated by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Russia dated 28.12.2017 N 285 (as amended on 05.12.2024) “On approval of the Procedure for organizing the provision of medical care to persons taken into custody or serving a sentence of imprisonment.”

“In addition, in accordance with in accordance with part 4 of Article 117 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, a mandatory medical examination and a doctor's opinion on suitability for detention in a punishment cell or solitary confinement are provided for, before the convict is transferred there, the procedure for which is regulated by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 09.08.2011 N 282 “On approval of the Procedure for conducting a medical examination before transferring convicts to cell-type premises, single cell-type premises, solitary confinement cells, as well as placement in punishment and disciplinary isolation cells and issuing a medical certificate on the possibility of being in the said premises due to health reasons," he noted.

As for how quickly assistance is provided in case of self-harm, according to the lawyer, everything depends on the extent of the bodily injuries sustained. "If injuries or trauma are dangerous to health, then medical assistance must be provided immediately.
The decision to call an ambulance team is made by a medical worker of the penal institution who, in accordance with his official duties, organizes and provides medical assistance to persons deprived of their liberty, and in his absence - by the head of this institution or an official authorized by him. Emergency medical care, including emergency specialized medical care, is provided to persons deprived of their liberty in an emergency and urgent form both in medical organizations and outside medical organizations, taking into account the established requirements for the timing of its provision,” Filippov said.

He also noted that the situation with the failure to provide medical care to prisoners, unfortunately, is often encountered in FSIN institutions. "We often see how prisoners are denied medical care under various pretexts, creating torture-like conditions of detention. It is noteworthy that society takes such cases calmly, although the court has not sentenced a person to torture. Nevertheless, there are successful trips, when lawyers specializing in providing legal assistance to prisoners managed to achieve positive results. Therefore, general recommendations can be as follows: first of all, such a person needs a lawyer. Sometimes his very presence speeds up the process of overcoming the resistance of the colony administration. It is important to officially notify about your health condition, that is, through a written request to the administration, in order to record the very fact of such a request. If the answer is not satisfactory, or is absent altogether, then it is necessary to file a complaint with a specialized prosecutor's office for supervision of compliance with laws in the correctional institution or, if there is none, with an ordinary territorial prosecutor's office. The complaint can be duplicated to the regional office of the FSIN, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Public Monitoring Commission (PMC)," - concluded lawyer.

The confiscation of the Koran and prayer rug from Muslim prisoners, which Tumgoev had previously complained about, is quite common, Svetlana Gannushkina*, chair of the Civil Assistance Committee, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "We have had to deal with this on numerous occasions. Part of this situation is due to the fact that many people who have been through Chechnya come to work at the Federal Penitentiary Service with displays of aggression towards all Muslims. They do this by taking away rugs, Korans, etc. The exception is if there is a clergyman with some kind of influence in the colony. In principle, a convict can achieve the return of the confiscated property if his lawyer indicates in the complaint that he needs the confiscated property as a believing Muslim to perform daily prayers," she emphasized.

* are included in the register of foreign agents.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia