April 28, 2023

Russia withholds HIV meds from prisoners to coerce fighting in Ukraine

Russian prisoners are reportedly choosing to fight in Ukraine, rather than face sub-standard healthcare for HIV in their own country. Approximately 20% of Russian prisoners have HIV and many inmates claim they are denied effective treatments in prison. In Ukraine, however, they have been offered hope, with the promise of antiretroviral medications if they agreed to fight. One inmate said he did not think he could survive a decade in a Russian prison with HIV, so he agreed to serve six months in the Wagner mercenary group in exchange for a pardon and supplies of antiretroviral medications. “If you have a long sentence,” he said, “it gives you a chance to begin life again.”

The full article in the New York Times by Andrew E. Kramer can be found here.