Rights defenders treat release of terminally ill Dagestan from colony as unique case

Prior to his release from the colony, Magomedsaid Gazaliev received proper treatment, in which he was very lucky. In most Russian jails, prisoners suffering from cancer cannot hope for the necessary medicines, or for medics' humane attitude, rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 22, the court freed the Dagestani, Magomedsaid Gazaliev, from serving the rest of his sentence because of his fourth-stage oncology disease. He has served 13 years and 4 months out of his term of 16 years and 9 months for participation in an illegal armed formation (IAF).

Gazaliev received proper treatment while in jail; and this is an exception to the rule, Vera Goncharova, an advocate for the Centre for Assistance to International Defence, believes.

All the cases of prisoners' torture, she dealt with, evidenced that appeals doctors in colony gave no desired result.

There were a lot of people who, like Gazaliev, surrendered and gave confessions in the hope of milder punishments for the offenses committed, said Lev Ponomaryov, the executive director of the public movement "For Human Rights".

He has noted that despite a lot of time has passed since then, but people who were convicted as IAF members are still in law enforcers' field of view.