Historian Yuri Dmitriev Hospitalized After Suspected Stroke While In Custody

Yuri Dmitriev, a 70-year-old historian and ex-head of Memorial in Karelia, was rushed from Penal Colony No. 18 in Mordovia to a prison medical facility in Barashevo after a suspected stroke, according to the human-rights group ZPCh. A source for the group expressed doubt that the clinic has the equipment needed for proper diagnosis or treatment and urged his transfer to a city hospital, as well as immediate access for his lawyer, who intends to visit on September 26 but likely will be blocked.

Dmitriev is known for discovering the Sandarmokh forest mass graves in 1997 and compiling lists of repression victims in Karelia. He has been detained since 2016 on accusations of producing child pornography involving his adopted daughter and illegal possession of a firearm part; he denied the allegations, claiming the photos were for medical monitoring. After a mixed verdict in 2018 and subsequent appeals, he received a 13-year sentence, later combined to 15 years in a high-security penal colony. More than 150 Russian cultural figures and 400 foreign scholars, including Nobel laureates Herta Müller and Svetlana Alexievich, have signed letters supporting him, and Memorial considers him a political prisoner.