A Chechen prisoner dying in “Matrosskaya Tishina” was saved by a secretly delivered hamburger

He was released, given a chance for a new life.

“I am the same prisoner from Sailor’s Silence who was supposed to die. But I survived! And I also gave birth to twins,” this is one of the most unexpected and positive (in these times, read, miracle) letters of recent times. It was written by a native of Chechnya, who was considered a hopeless patient in the intensive care unit of the only prison hospital in Moscow. He was “activated” (released due to the presence of a disease that prevented detention), giving him a chance. The guy took advantage of this chance.

All this would not have happened if human rights activists had not initially stood up for him, and if the ex-head of the Matrosskaya Tishina hospital, Alexander Kravchenko, had not sent him for a medical examination. For such referrals for examinations of dying prisoners, Dr. Kravchenko was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The story of the struggle for one prisoner, which shows how “activation” can save a dying person and give him a new life – in the material of the MK observer.

A young, cheerful, red-haired Chechen, Islam Musaev, ended up in a pre-trial detention center on charges of attempted robbery. Islam with a higher education, cultured, well-read, but got into trouble, from which he went straight to the bunk.

In Butyrka, over time, he began to complain of severe back pain. The pre-trial detention center doctors did not believe that he had anything serious. They said: these are kidneys. But human rights activists, becoming wary, began asking to take him to the hospital for diagnostics. Finally, he was hospitalized. And literally a week later he lost terribly weight and began screaming in pain. Soon the tests came back – bone tuberculosis. The guy was transferred to the tuberculosis ward of the hospital, where he – excuse the expression – died. Just at this time, so-called “palliative chambers” were set up at the Matrosskaya Tishina hospital – for those who did not have long to live. It was in such a cell that Islam was placed.

Here’s how he remembers it:

* When I was brought to the “tubanar” (the department where prisoners with suspected tuberculosis are kept – author’s note) of “Matrosskaya Tishina”, I did not know about the diagnosis. They didn’t report. My back hurt terribly. To give me an anesthetic injection, they had to come and cut my veins (otherwise the doctors refused, maybe they didn’t believe that it hurt me that much). After human rights activists and Federal Penitentiary Service employee Anna Karetnikova came to check, there were no more problems with painkillers. We were even taken to the bathhouse to wash ourselves. And then this happened. At night I woke up, went to the washbasin to drink water and fell. I severely smashed my head (I still remember this pain). I woke up in intensive care. I remember they told me: “You’ve been in bed for three months now.” And to them: “How is the third month? I thought I’d been here for two days.” And then he fell into unconsciousness again.

Islam says he remembers asking for a hamburger in a moment of oblivion. He didn’t want anything – neither eat nor drink. But for some reason he said about the hamburger. Maybe because in prison it is an unattainable luxury, a dream. Human rights activists then thought that it would be nice to fulfill the wish of a dying man (and then no one doubted that he would soon leave this world). But how to do that? As a member of the POC, I brought envelopes, pens, postcards, medicines and things for prisoners to the pre-trial detention center. But they all passed control before falling into the hands of the most unfortunate inmates. And with a hamburger, let alone in the ward, no one would let me into the pre-trial detention center itself. Anya Karetnikova, at that time an employee of the Federal Penitentiary Service, managed to bring the “cherished” fast food. Islam then either just took a bite of the hamburger, or even just held it in his hand and smelled it. He couldn’t eat. But for him, this miracle burger was a manifestation of God’s mercy and proof that everything is possible, and if so, then there is no need to give up.

The head of the hospital, Alexander Kravchenko, sent Islam for a medical examination in accordance with Government Resolution No. 3 (which contains a list of diseases that prevent him from being in custody). At the civil hospital, the commission recognized that he had an ailment that was listed on the list. And the court made a decision – to release. By this point, Islam no longer recognized anyone, he was delirious all the time. Human rights activists managed to find his mother in Chechnya, she came to pick up her son. The woman took him home, as everyone thought, to die. A few days later she called and said that her son did not recognize anyone. Since then we have not heard anything about Islam. They were afraid to call their mother…

And here is a “call from the other world.”

– It’s me, alive! – says Islam. – Thank you, and Anna, and Dr. Kravchenko! I had surgery on my spine and a titanium plate was inserted. First group for disability, I continue to receive treatment. But I’m alive!!! And I had twins!

The worst thing that can happen in the life of a seriously ill person is when hope is taken away from him. When free, the patient can change doctor, hospital, and treatment methods. There is no such possibility and cannot be in a pre-trial detention center. This is why it is so important to “activate” those who have a serious illness. Islam did not know, of course, that a little later Dr. Kravchenko was accused of releasing seriously ill patients in order to “unload the Moscow pre-trial detention center and thereby curry favor with the leadership” (this is the wording in the indictment). The court sentenced him to 7 years in prison. Since then, prison doctors, fearing a repetition of this story and criminal liability, have not wanted to release prisoners who could die.