In St. Petersburg, a court released a prisoner with HIV from a colony

The St. Petersburg City Court overturned the decision of the Smolninsky District Court and released HIV-positive K. from the colony. The human rights organization “Zone of Law” reported this to Mediazona.

According to lawyer Vitaly Cherkasov, during the hearing the prosecutor opposed the release of the prisoner because, in his opinion, K. was receiving “timely medical care.”

As the lawyer pointed out in the appeal, in November 2016 the Smolninsky court did not take into account that “a strict basis for exemption from punishment due to illness is the presence of corresponding diseases - if inpatient treatment does not produce positive results.” In the case of K., this is confirmed by the conclusion of the medical examination and the testimony of the attending physician.

The administration of the Haaz Hospital did not object to the convict’s request for release.

33-year-old K. was diagnosed with HIV 4B (since 2010) and chronic viral hepatitis (since 2016 - that is, while serving his sentence). Since August 2016, he has been experiencing severe headaches and vomiting. During the examination, he was also found to have cerebral toxoplasmosis and astheno-neurotic syndrome. K.'s chances of recovery are slim; after his release, his mother will look after him.

As K. himself said, in the prison hospital treatment is carried out only with the drug Biseptol, although doctors note that he needs other drugs.