Irina Sukach's death highlights flaws in treatment tactics for those arrested

Businesswoman Irina Sukach, who was arrested in the Rostov Region, was hospitalized in a prison hospital only a few days before her death, and until then she had not received effective medical care, her son and lawyer said. Prison staff and judges do not attach due importance to the diagnoses of the accused, experts said.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on August 28, 67-year-old Irina Sukach died in intensive care of Interregional Tuberculosis Hospital (MOTB) No. 19 in the Rostov Region. The deceased's son, Alexander, and lawyers demanded that the Investigative Committee conduct an investigation, suggesting that the woman was not provided with the necessary medical care.

While in custody, Irina Sukach "received virtually no proper medical treatment," Sukach's lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "In SIZO-4, for the last month and a half, they stopped giving her the immunological drugs necessary for her serious illness, which may have led to the deterioration of her condition," he said.

She was transferred to MOTB-19 only a few days before her death

According to the defense attorney, the woman was transferred to the tuberculosis hospital when her condition was already critical. "She was transferred to MOTB-19 only a few days before her death, when her condition had sharply worsened, and was transferred to intensive care, where she died. That is, the doctors did not have time to do anything. And they could not do anything, because she should have been transferred there earlier. The diagnoses given to Irina Sukach included a severe incurable immunological disease - an autoimmune disorder of cellular tissue, vasculopathy, that is, a disease of the blood vessels, and a heart aneurysm," the lawyer said.

Irina Sukach was a co-owner of a number of companies, including the Osminozhek water park, and the CEO of the Aktiv-Invest company. She was charged with participating in a criminal organization under Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in a case in which no serious crimes were recorded, her son Alexander said.

"And even the charge under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for illegal entrepreneurial activity, which does not provide for particularly serious crimes, was excluded by the court two years ago. But she remained in custody under Article 210. And this is an unfair and cruel attitude towards her," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, emphasizing that he demands an investigation into the circumstances of his mother's death and the punishment of those who did not provide her with timely medical care.

The list of serious diseases that prevent detention, approved by Russian Government Resolution No. 930 of June 23, 2025 (which entered into force on July 5, 2025), does not specifically mention Sjogren's syndrome, vasculopathy and cardiac aneurysm as separate diagnoses. However, often even the diagnoses indicated in this list do not become the basis for releasing a person from custody, said human rights activist Valentin Bogdan.

"The subtlety is that they need to be compared, since the courts quite often pay attention to the fact that [the person with] such or such a disease is subject to release. If this is not indicated, then the courts sometimes make it so that "this does not fit", because the disease number or the exact diagnosis of the disease does not correspond to the ruling. Unfortunately, we have encountered this many times,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Many do not even live to see their release

According to him, it is very rare to achieve the release of prisoners who have been diagnosed with diseases specified in the list of government decrees.

“Such cases do happen, but they are extremely rare, and the whole process takes a very long time. So long that, unfortunately, many do not even live to see their release. And the next important point. Of course, all civil rights remain in force, and in particular, the right to health care. And therefore, the administration of the pre-trial detention center, the colony is responsible for life, for ensuring proper medical care. This is all entrusted to the administration, because the person is in places of deprivation of liberty,” the human rights activist said.

However, according to Bogdan, prison doctors often “take such a position, that there is no need to help them [the arrested], they are criminals." "And that is why they hinder this procedure in every possible way. They do not provide the opportunity to establish disability, they do not provide the opportunity for normal treatment, some pill, outpatient treatment is enough, and that's it. Despite the fact that it is necessary to simply send to inpatient hospitals, which the Federal Penitentiary Service does have. But this is a problem in that any person should have a defender at large who can promote a solution to his problem," Bogdan said.

In accordance with Article 49 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, every accused is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by law and established by a court verdict that has entered into legal force, recalled lawyer Timur Filippov.

The attitude towards her was inhumane

"Thus, Irina Sukach, who was accused of committing a non-violent crime, was an innocent person throughout her detention. According to Article 97 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, preventive measures are applied to ensure the appearance of the accused and to prevent obstruction of criminal proceedings. At the same time, Article 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation obliges the court to take into account the age, health, marital status and other personal circumstances of the accused when choosing a preventive measure. Considering that Irina Sukach was a woman aged 67, had serious diseases (autoimmune, vascular and cardiological), the application of a preventive measure in the form of detention did not meet the requirements of Article 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The attitude towards her was inhumane," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, relatives and lawyers are "undoubtedly right" in demanding that officials who were obliged to monitor the health of a woman in conditions Pre-trial detention center.

It is necessary to raise the issue of the responsibility of judges who obviously ignored her condition

"But I would put the question a little more broadly. It is known that Irina Sukach is 67 years old, she was accused of non-violent commission of a crime, by virtue of the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution of Russia she is innocent and, given her state of health, gender and age, she could well have been under a more lenient measure of restraint. Of course, it is pointless to demand any humanity from the current investigation in this matter, but the investigation is only petitioning for an extension of the measure of restraint. The decision to keep her in custody for four years, in conditions that clearly do not provide her with the proper medical care necessary due to the presence of such serious diseases, was made by specific judges. They were the ones who should have taken into account the circumstances and assessed the risks of Irina Sukach's stay in the pre-trial detention center," Filippov emphasized.

The death of a woman, according to in his words, "directly proves that the danger to her life and health while in the pretrial detention center was real." "Therefore, I believe that in this case it is necessary to raise the question of the responsibility of the judges, who obviously ignored her state of health and age, thereby violating the provisions of the criminal procedure law. The violations committed by the courts led to irreversible grave consequences in the form of her death, which requires a legal assessment," the lawyer noted.