Iryna Danylovych asks the European Parliament to stop the abuse in the Russian prison she is held in

Photo by KrymSOS

Citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych, imprisoned by the Kremlin for political reasons, has addressed the Vice President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno, drawing her attention to the mass abuse in the Zelenokumsk women's colony (Russia) where she is being held, ZMINA reports, having received Iryna's address from her family.

Danylovych says that the administration of women's colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Stavropol Kray, creates "endless hell" for the inmates.

According to Iryna, the bright lights in the colony are never switched off, causing headaches and preventing the prisoners from falling asleep, and the noise from the equipment placed right in the barracks is extremely loud and lasts several hours daily. The latter is exhausting for Iryna due to her ear infection, which is not treated appropriately in the colony.

"Even a blindfold doesn't help," Danylovych says about the constantly working lights.

The journalist adds that the inmates are forced to stand outside in the rain or freezing cold for hours on end, which she considers a form of torture.

Iryna Danylovych asks Pina Picierno to bring these facts to the European community's attention, as well as the plight of women in Russian prisons. The Vice-President of the European Parliament has repeatedly expressed support for the imprisoned journalist.

“I am asking you to make this public. I ask everyone who cares to speak up,” Iryna reports.

She also called for an appeal to the Russian Human Rights Commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, to stop the abuse and violations of the rights of female inmates in Zelenokumsk.

The Iryna Danylovych case

Iryna Danylovych was detained on April 29, 2022, in the occupied Crimea. She was detained on her way from work on the road from Koktebel to Feodosia. Her house in Vladislavivka village was searched, her phone and laptop were seized.

Iryna Danylovych worked as a nurse, and was also a citizen journalist, covering the healt care workers' rights and problems of the health care system in Crimea.

On June 29, 2023, it was reported that the Russian-backed Supreme Court of Crimea changed the ruling in the case of Iryna Danylovych, who had been previously sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of storing an explosive device. She was moved to a prison in Russia.

On November 2, 2023, it was reported that Iryna Danylovych had suffered a stroke while still in the Simferopol PTDC.

In August Iryna Danylovych's father, Bronyslav Danylovych, said that she had lost all hearing in her left ear and is receiving no medical assistance.

In November 2024 Iryna complained of heart pain and headaches and said that the left side of her body was numb after a microstroke. 

It was reported in March 2025 that Iryna Danylovych was held in a prison in Russia's Stavropol Kray, sharing a barrack with 120 people.