Terminally ill woman's first prison letter details breathing restrictions
Evgenia Lomakova, suffering from cystic fibrosis, sent a letter to her sister from the penal colony.
20-year-old Muscovite Evgenia Lomakova, who has a severe incurable diagnosis—cystic fibrosis—was transferred to women«s penal colony No. 5 near Mozhaisk in Moscow Oblast, her sister told MSK1.RU. She shared the contents of the first letter that Zhenya wrote from the penal colony with journalists. The girl is terrified.
Evgenia said that she faces two weeks of quarantine, after which she will be sent to a unit. When she will be able to see a therapist is unknown. The girl made an inventory of all her medications, and the staff initially did not understand «where to put it all,» but they figured it out.
«There»s a regime here, it«s hard for me to cope with it, but according to the internal regulations (rules of internal order—Ed.) I»m not allowed to get up at night to breathe. But what can I do—if I feel bad, I have to get up. They seem understanding, but considering that I«m in quarantine and I»m struggling, what will happen in the unit… This is awful,« Evgenia worries.
She is sure that she will have to work in the colony in any case, since her disability group 3 is considered able to work. Evgenia faces many restrictions that are dangerous for her diagnosis. She needs to eat five to six times a day, but this is impossible because the kitchen is closed, and meals are only served on a schedule.
«I haven»t been called to the therapist yet, so I«m waiting. Constant weakness, and I can»t sleep at night. I walk around all day in a daze. I don«t see the point in having visitors. It»s really hard for me. Love,« Lomakova writes to her family.
Evgenia Lomakova was transferred to a women«s penal colony despite her cystic fibrosis diagnosis.
In October, the court sentenced Lomakova to a colony for six years on charges of attempted drug trafficking. The 20-year-old girl«s relatives fear that due to her severe illness, she will not be able to adhere to the colony»s regime and she will be punished with a punitive isolation cell.
Evgenia ended up in penal colony No. 5 near Mozhaisk in Moscow Oblast—it is very difficult to obtain concessions due to illness there. Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Human Rights Council, said that she had been complained to about overtime work, lack of toilet stalls, and hazing.
Zhenya Lomakova«s family hopes that she will be released due to her incurable illness, with which people in Russia live on average up to 25–29 years. The girl needs regular inhalations, monitoring by specialized doctors, and the intake of many medications. The necessary assistance is not available in the colony.
