“Betrayed” for his love of Ukraine. The occupiers sentenced Igor Nazarenko, a surgeon from Donetsk, to 11 years in prison
Source: Svoi.City
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
A Childhood Dream—To Heal People
Iryna is four years younger than Ihor. She says they grew up in an ordinary family. Ever since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a doctor.
“Our mom worked at a hospital, and we spent a lot of time there. Starting around the age of eight, my brother became interested in zoology and biology, so there was a lot of medical literature at home. Our aunt worked at the morgue, and when Igor got a little older, he would often visit her in the lab. He loved watching her take samples, perform dissections, and so on. My brother got straight A’s in school, so he was accepted on his first try to the Kostiantynivka Medical College, where he trained to become a paramedic. Then he went on to study to become a surgeon at Donetsk Medical University.”
While in his second year of college, Igor Nazarenko got a job.
“We were an average family; we didn’t have much money. That’s why Igor decided to study and work at the same time.”
There are two versions of who turned Igor
in. After university, he got a job as a surgeon at Donetsk Hospital No. 14 in Petrivka. He worked there until the occupation of Donetsk in 2014. Even though Iryna had been urging her brother to leave the city from the very beginning, he and his wife stayed.
“About once a month, whenever possible, Igor would come visit us in Kostiantynivka; our mother was still alive back then. We told him not to make a public show of his pro-Ukrainian stance. But my brother always stood up for his own views in discussions with colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. And then, as far as I know, there was a period when many doctors were detained. According to one account, a former SBU employee from Mariupol betrayed people who supported Ukraine in exchange for money. Another account claims that his colleagues turned him in because of his pro-Ukrainian stance. Perhaps we’ll find out the truth after Igor is released or after the war ends.”
The Day That Divided Life Into “Before” and “After”
It all happened at 8:00 a.m. on October 3, 2017. At the entrance to the hospital, Igor Nazarenko was detained by people in military uniforms and taken to the “MGB.” That same day, his wife received a call from an unknown number informing her of his detention and ordering her to go home.
“There was a search at our home. Six people in civilian and military uniforms—armed, as she says—seized all electronic devices, phones, flash drives, the computer, documents, and diaries—they thoroughly ransacked everything. And they said that Igor was involved in terrorist activities in support of Ukraine.”
“Ukraine is like a mother to me. How could I ever betray her?”
Until November 4, Igor Nazarenko was held at the Donetsk Temporary Detention Center. While his family was still able to, they sent him care packages. These included, among other things, an English self-study guide and medical literature. Even in his prison cell, Igor Nazarenko devoted time to self-improvement and learning.
Iryna says they found a lawyer right away, hoping she would help free her brother as quickly as possible.
But she turned out to be pro-Russian and began to put psychological pressure on her brother
“She said his behavior was wrong, that he shouldn’t speak ill of the ‘DPR.’ She hinted that he should confess to everything he was accused of and repent. But my brother held his ground with dignity. I remember what he said: ‘Ukraine is like a mother to me. How could I betray her? It’s the same as betraying my own parents.”
Igor was then transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 5 in Donetsk, where he was held until November 29, 2019. There, he was subjected to physical violence and torture. His wife saw him with bruises on his face—one of the sessions of the so-called court was held online.
11 Years for “Espionage”
On November 4, 2019, the so-called “Supreme Court of the ‘DPR’” convicted Igor Nazarenko under Article 321 of the “Criminal Code of the ‘DPR’” for “espionage.” He was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. On November 29, the doctor was transferred from Donetsk to neighboring Makiivka. Igor remains in Penal Colony No. 32 to this day.
“I know very little about my brother. And what I do know comes from the accounts of those men—also civilians—who were likewise held behind bars for years. Even while enduring inhumane conditions in the penal colony, Igor continues to be a true doctor and a true human being—providing medical care. My brother has worked as a surgeon his entire life and has never committed a single crime. His pro-Ukrainian stance can be confirmed by the fellow hostages who were held captive with my brother in the pretrial detention center and the penal colony and have since been released. They were the ones who told me about my brother’s critical health condition. Igor has chronic lung disease, so being held in such conditions causes frequent flare-ups and shortens his life expectancy. In addition, he has suffered from pneumonia. My brother suffered severe intoxication—so severe that the other inmates had to carry him by the arms to the infirmary; there’s a medical facility attached to the prison. His wife sent him the medications, because, as you can imagine, the treatment there is what it is. If it weren’t for these medications, it’s unclear whether he would still be alive. We’re afraid things might get even worse, because his condition has worsened—he’s coughing constantly.”
His wife is able to visit Igor three times a year; she sends care packages more frequently. Before the full-scale war, his sister would usually put together the care packages and send them via couriers from government-controlled territory to Donetsk. Unfortunately, since February 24, 2022, his sister no longer has that option. According to Iryna, the quality of food in prison has improved slightly recently.
She continues to fight for her “two meters of beauty”
Iryna calls her brother “two meters of beauty.” She says Igor didn’t talk much; he believes a man should be accountable for his words. And he always sticks to this rule—even in prison. She constantly recalls their trips together to Lyman and Svyatogorsk, how they picked mushrooms and went fishing.
Igor is quite the avid fisherman. In the few photos I have of him, he’s always holding his catch. And he looks so happy…
All these years, Iryna Ivankova has been handling the legal and administrative support for her older brother. She says that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations are, as a matter of principle, not allowed to visit political prisoners.
“The Red Cross is such a powerless organization; it works only on the side of our enemy. I try to attend all the meetings organized by the SBU, the Coordination Headquarters, and the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. Once a month, I attend these meetings with other relatives of civilian prisoners; we won’t let the authorities forget about our sons, fathers, and brothers. We’ll keep fighting and believing that they’ll all finally be free in the near future!”
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
A Childhood Dream—To Heal People
Iryna is four years younger than Ihor. She says they grew up in an ordinary family. Ever since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a doctor.
“Our mom worked at a hospital, and we spent a lot of time there. Starting around the age of eight, my brother became interested in zoology and biology, so there was a lot of medical literature at home. Our aunt worked at the morgue, and when Igor got a little older, he would often visit her in the lab. He loved watching her take samples, perform dissections, and so on. My brother got straight A’s in school, so he was accepted on his first try to the Kostiantynivka Medical College, where he trained to become a paramedic. Then he went on to study to become a surgeon at Donetsk Medical University.”
While in his second year of college, Igor Nazarenko got a job.
“We were an average family; we didn’t have much money. That’s why Igor decided to study and work at the same time.”
There are two versions of who turned Igor
in. After university, he got a job as a surgeon at Donetsk Hospital No. 14 in Petrivka. He worked there until the occupation of Donetsk in 2014. Even though Iryna had been urging her brother to leave the city from the very beginning, he and his wife stayed.
“About once a month, whenever possible, Igor would come visit us in Kostiantynivka; our mother was still alive back then. We told him not to make a public show of his pro-Ukrainian stance. But my brother always stood up for his own views in discussions with colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. And then, as far as I know, there was a period when many doctors were detained. According to one account, a former SBU employee from Mariupol betrayed people who supported Ukraine in exchange for money. Another account claims that his colleagues turned him in because of his pro-Ukrainian stance. Perhaps we’ll find out the truth after Igor is released or after the war ends.”
The Day That Divided Life Into “Before” and “After”
It all happened at 8:00 a.m. on October 3, 2017. At the entrance to the hospital, Igor Nazarenko was detained by people in military uniforms and taken to the “MGB.” That same day, his wife received a call from an unknown number informing her of his detention and ordering her to go home.
“There was a search at our home. Six people in civilian and military uniforms—armed, as she says—seized all electronic devices, phones, flash drives, the computer, documents, and diaries—they thoroughly ransacked everything. And they said that Igor was involved in terrorist activities in support of Ukraine.”
“Ukraine is like a mother to me. How could I ever betray her?”
Until November 4, Igor Nazarenko was held at the Donetsk Temporary Detention Center. While his family was still able to, they sent him care packages. These included, among other things, an English self-study guide and medical literature. Even in his prison cell, Igor Nazarenko devoted time to self-improvement and learning.
Iryna says they found a lawyer right away, hoping she would help free her brother as quickly as possible.
But she turned out to be pro-Russian and began to put psychological pressure on her brother
“She said his behavior was wrong, that he shouldn’t speak ill of the ‘DPR.’ She hinted that he should confess to everything he was accused of and repent. But my brother held his ground with dignity. I remember what he said: ‘Ukraine is like a mother to me. How could I betray her? It’s the same as betraying my own parents.”
Igor was then transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 5 in Donetsk, where he was held until November 29, 2019. There, he was subjected to physical violence and torture. His wife saw him with bruises on his face—one of the sessions of the so-called court was held online.
11 Years for “Espionage”
On November 4, 2019, the so-called “Supreme Court of the ‘DPR’” convicted Igor Nazarenko under Article 321 of the “Criminal Code of the ‘DPR’” for “espionage.” He was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. On November 29, the doctor was transferred from Donetsk to neighboring Makiivka. Igor remains in Penal Colony No. 32 to this day.
“I know very little about my brother. And what I do know comes from the accounts of those men—also civilians—who were likewise held behind bars for years. Even while enduring inhumane conditions in the penal colony, Igor continues to be a true doctor and a true human being—providing medical care. My brother has worked as a surgeon his entire life and has never committed a single crime. His pro-Ukrainian stance can be confirmed by the fellow hostages who were held captive with my brother in the pretrial detention center and the penal colony and have since been released. They were the ones who told me about my brother’s critical health condition. Igor has chronic lung disease, so being held in such conditions causes frequent flare-ups and shortens his life expectancy. In addition, he has suffered from pneumonia. My brother suffered severe intoxication—so severe that the other inmates had to carry him by the arms to the infirmary; there’s a medical facility attached to the prison. His wife sent him the medications, because, as you can imagine, the treatment there is what it is. If it weren’t for these medications, it’s unclear whether he would still be alive. We’re afraid things might get even worse, because his condition has worsened—he’s coughing constantly.”
His wife is able to visit Igor three times a year; she sends care packages more frequently. Before the full-scale war, his sister would usually put together the care packages and send them via couriers from government-controlled territory to Donetsk. Unfortunately, since February 24, 2022, his sister no longer has that option. According to Iryna, the quality of food in prison has improved slightly recently.
She continues to fight for her “two meters of beauty”
Iryna calls her brother “two meters of beauty.” She says Igor didn’t talk much; he believes a man should be accountable for his words. And he always sticks to this rule—even in prison. She constantly recalls their trips together to Lyman and Svyatogorsk, how they picked mushrooms and went fishing.
Igor is quite the avid fisherman. In the few photos I have of him, he’s always holding his catch. And he looks so happy…
All these years, Iryna Ivankova has been handling the legal and administrative support for her older brother. She says that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations are, as a matter of principle, not allowed to visit political prisoners.
“The Red Cross is such a powerless organization; it works only on the side of our enemy. I try to attend all the meetings organized by the SBU, the Coordination Headquarters, and the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. Once a month, I attend these meetings with other relatives of civilian prisoners; we won’t let the authorities forget about our sons, fathers, and brothers. We’ll keep fighting and believing that they’ll all finally be free in the near future!”
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.