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Alexei Gorinov, a municipal deputy from Moscow, wrote a letter from the detention center he is being kept in, sharing that he has been refused medical assistance.
According to Gorinov, he has been sick for three weeks:
“I am coughing incessantly and having trouble breathing, sleeping, and eating. I am not receiving any medical help (such as diagnosis or prescribed treatment). My condition is getting worse. I need help.”
The Insider has contacted Gorinov's defense counsel Katerina Tertukhina. At the time of our call, she had just left the detention center. She said that Gorinov was “seriously ill” and needed urgent hospitalization.
“Alexei can’t eat and has lost a lot of weight. He can't sleep properly either because of his cough. He is being kept in a very small cell with four more inmates. Because of the heat, there is little fresh air in the cell. I am extremely concerned for his life and health. I think the situation calls for public attention. We must save Alexei.
He has not received medical attention in three weeks already. He needs a comprehensive medical examination, diagnosis, and treatment. I don't think it is possible without admitting him to a hospital. Alexei had a pulmonary condition in 2016, which was not too long ago. It was a serious case, and before the detention center, he’d had relapses at times, but not to the extent that he is experiencing today.”
On July 8, Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for “spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces” (Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code, Part 2). One of the recent amendments to the Russian criminal law, this article is used for the prosecution of anti-war activists. Alexei Gorinov called for stopping the war in Ukraine at a deputy council session and urged for the withdrawal of Russian troops. In court, he refused to plead guilty and became the first defendant in such a criminal case to get a prison sentence.