Irina Navalna was arrested in Mariupol. She is accused of attempting a terrorist attack during the “referendum.”
Source: SVOI CITY
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
Iryna Navalna has been held in the Donetsk pretrial detention center for nearly half a year. She was detained in late September in her hometown of Mariupol, where she had traveled to visit her elderly grandmother and pick up some necessary items. The “DNR” prosecutor’s office and “MGB” investigators have opened a criminal case under the charge of “attempted terrorist attack.” According to investigators, Iryna faces life imprisonment. The convicted woman’s mother, Oleksandra Stolyar, does not believe her daughter was involved in planning an explosion at one of the polling stations, so she continues to appeal to various authorities and agencies in Ukraine, Russia, and the “DNR.” For some time, Oleksandra Stolyars remained silent, but now she has decided to speak out about her imprisoned daughter.
Mom’s Daughter
Oleksandra gave birth to Iryna when she was 18. She says the delivery was difficult, and the baby was born with cerebral edema. For over half a year, the woman fought for Irina to lead a full life. They prevailed, but the medical condition took a toll on her daughter’s health—she suffers from regular headaches and has a tendency toward suicidal thoughts. At the same time, however, she is a well-rounded and versatile person: she attended general education, music, and art schools simultaneously, and later earned a degree in “Information Technology” from university.
“I worked hard—I had two jobs—so that my daughter would have everything she needed and lack for nothing. I participated in my daughter’s life as much as I could, but for the most part, my parents were the ones who nurtured her development and helped her grow as a person.
My mother is an Honored Teacher of Ukraine, and my father is a former military officer. My grandparents adored their granddaughter and called Iryna ‘our third daughter.’ My father completely stepped in as a father figure for her, since we hadn’t lived with her father for a long time.”
The woman noted that although her daughter had been living separately in the period leading up to the full-scale invasion, she never made any important decisions on her own.
“Ira has a gentle nature; she’s a chip off the old block. She always consulted with me on any important matters. That’s why it was surprising to me to hear that Ira nearly blew up a polling station.”
We left with an old cat and a sheepdog
Life for the family after February 24 has been filled with horror, just like for everyone in Mariupol: we lived in a basement for two weeks, came under fire, saw decapitated corpses on the city streets, people dying from their wounds, and neighbors going mad in the shelter.
When we got ready to evacuate in March, no one wanted to take us because of our large Malinois, a Belgian Shepherd
“There was no organized evacuation; at that time, people could only leave in their own vehicles, putting their lives at great risk. That’s why we stayed in Mariupol. After a great deal of effort, I managed to buy a SIM card from a local mobile carrier—the crowd of people nearly crushed all my ribs. I called my family, told them we’d survived that hell, and asked for financial help so we could all leave. We didn’t leave Mariupol until May 9: it took us three days to reach territory controlled by Ukraine, traveling through Russia, the Baltic states, and Poland. We took our pets with us: an old cat—she’s already 15 years old—and a dog.
"
I wanted to visit my grandmother, but instead I ended up behind bars
We’ve settled in a bit in the Zhytomyr region. In conversations with her colleagues, Oleksandra learned that both they and her daughter’s friends periodically travel to Mariupol—to visit loved ones and pick up belongings. Some get there in their own vehicles, while others use the services of transport companies.
“Iryna’s grandmother, her father’s mother, was still in Mariupol. They were very close. My daughter decided to go see her and, together, pick up winter clothes, photographs, a hard drive from the computer, and other more or less valuable items. Of course, I was against this trip, but my daughter was 24 at the time. She made this decision, and besides, her grandmother called Irina every evening, crying on the phone, missing her granddaughter, and wanting to see her. Understandably, an elderly person had become more sentimental after all the terrible events. She was left there alone and didn’t want to leave. So Ira got her things together, found a driver, and left for Mariupol at the end of August.”
On September 27, Iryna stopped responding to messages. That same evening, a video was posted on a Russian news site showing her being interrogated. Ira says she wanted to blow up a polling station (from September 23 to 27, in the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Russia had occupied since February 24, 2022, a “referendum” on joining the Russian Federation took place—Svoi).
“What I saw and heard came as a shock to me. You know, ‘Ira wanted to blow it up’—those are two completely opposite ideas. Second, hurting people—that’s not her style either.
I’m sure they targeted her because of her last name—Navalna
At first, they detained her while they figured out the details, and then, apparently, they decided to fabricate a case against her. These are just my guesses, because there are no statements or witnesses who could say what actually happened. I don’t even know where she was arrested in the first place.”
Irina Navalna is charged with attempted terrorism. The young woman is being held against her will in the Donetsk pretrial detention center and faces the threat of life imprisonment. March 27 marks half a year since her arrest. According to Oleksandra, there hasn’t been a single court hearing during this time.
Her daughter is simply being held behind bars. She “celebrated” her 25th birthday
there
Her grandmother has only seen her granddaughter once—the young woman looks
terrible. On September 27, the day of her arrest and alleged confession, Iryna was brought in handcuffs to her grandmother’s home. A search was conducted there. After that, they took Iryna away, and for a month, there was no news about her.
“We searched everywhere: I did it remotely, while her grandmother traveled all over Mariupol and even made it as far as Donetsk. Everywhere we went, they said, ‘She’s not here.’ Then on October 26, exactly one month later, investigators from the ‘DPR Ministry of State Security’ came to her grandmother’s house and said they were opening a criminal case under the charge of ‘attempted terrorist attack.’ They took a statement from my grandmother. And from that moment on, the investigator handling Ira’s case began communicating with my mother-in-law. At first, there was a lawyer: initially she answered phone calls, but once she took money from my mother-in-law, she stopped answering the phone. The investigator doesn’t communicate with me at all. The only thing is—they ask my grandmother, “Why doesn’t her mother come, look for her, and get her daughter out of there?”
But as soon as I cross the “border,” they’ll immediately arrest me for my pro-Ukrainian stance. I think they’re trying to lure me out; they probably want to put me behind bars
, too. Iryna’s grandmother travels from Mariupol to Donetsk every two weeks to bring her granddaughter a care package at the pretrial detention center. They’ve only seen each other once.
“During the visit with her grandmother, my daughter couldn’t say anything because there was not only an investigator in the room with them, but also two other unknown, burly men. Well, at least she got to see her—that’s a blessing.”
Iryna looks terrible; she has sores and pimples all over her body and face.
“All the other girls are feeling terrible, too. Maybe it’s a reaction to the food or water. These sores itch, and the girls scratch them until they bleed. People who were released from the detention center as part of an exchange also have these sores. They won’t go away, and our doctors haven’t yet been able to determine what kind of illness this is or what’s causing it. So for now, they don’t know how to treat it.”
During the time that Irina Navalna has been in the detention center, her family has appealed to all “DNR” authorities.
“To Human Rights Commissioner Daria Morozova, the Ministry of Justice, the prosecutor’s office, and others. At first, they said she wasn’t anywhere to be found. And only at the end of November did they respond that Ira is in a pretrial detention center in Donetsk. I’ve also written to all Russian agencies: my appeals have been registered, but I haven’t received a single response from anyone. And, of course, I’ve gone through all these steps in Ukraine as well. I hope that the people involved in prisoner exchanges and releases will be able to secure my daughter’s release in the near future.”
Author: Hanna KURTSANOVSKA
Iryna Navalna has been held in the Donetsk pretrial detention center for nearly half a year. She was detained in late September in her hometown of Mariupol, where she had traveled to visit her elderly grandmother and pick up some necessary items. The “DNR” prosecutor’s office and “MGB” investigators have opened a criminal case under the charge of “attempted terrorist attack.” According to investigators, Iryna faces life imprisonment. The convicted woman’s mother, Oleksandra Stolyar, does not believe her daughter was involved in planning an explosion at one of the polling stations, so she continues to appeal to various authorities and agencies in Ukraine, Russia, and the “DNR.” For some time, Oleksandra Stolyars remained silent, but now she has decided to speak out about her imprisoned daughter.
Mom’s Daughter
Oleksandra gave birth to Iryna when she was 18. She says the delivery was difficult, and the baby was born with cerebral edema. For over half a year, the woman fought for Irina to lead a full life. They prevailed, but the medical condition took a toll on her daughter’s health—she suffers from regular headaches and has a tendency toward suicidal thoughts. At the same time, however, she is a well-rounded and versatile person: she attended general education, music, and art schools simultaneously, and later earned a degree in “Information Technology” from university.
“I worked hard—I had two jobs—so that my daughter would have everything she needed and lack for nothing. I participated in my daughter’s life as much as I could, but for the most part, my parents were the ones who nurtured her development and helped her grow as a person.
My mother is an Honored Teacher of Ukraine, and my father is a former military officer. My grandparents adored their granddaughter and called Iryna ‘our third daughter.’ My father completely stepped in as a father figure for her, since we hadn’t lived with her father for a long time.”
The woman noted that although her daughter had been living separately in the period leading up to the full-scale invasion, she never made any important decisions on her own.
“Ira has a gentle nature; she’s a chip off the old block. She always consulted with me on any important matters. That’s why it was surprising to me to hear that Ira nearly blew up a polling station.”
We left with an old cat and a sheepdog
Life for the family after February 24 has been filled with horror, just like for everyone in Mariupol: we lived in a basement for two weeks, came under fire, saw decapitated corpses on the city streets, people dying from their wounds, and neighbors going mad in the shelter.
When we got ready to evacuate in March, no one wanted to take us because of our large Malinois, a Belgian Shepherd
“There was no organized evacuation; at that time, people could only leave in their own vehicles, putting their lives at great risk. That’s why we stayed in Mariupol. After a great deal of effort, I managed to buy a SIM card from a local mobile carrier—the crowd of people nearly crushed all my ribs. I called my family, told them we’d survived that hell, and asked for financial help so we could all leave. We didn’t leave Mariupol until May 9: it took us three days to reach territory controlled by Ukraine, traveling through Russia, the Baltic states, and Poland. We took our pets with us: an old cat—she’s already 15 years old—and a dog.
"
I wanted to visit my grandmother, but instead I ended up behind bars
We’ve settled in a bit in the Zhytomyr region. In conversations with her colleagues, Oleksandra learned that both they and her daughter’s friends periodically travel to Mariupol—to visit loved ones and pick up belongings. Some get there in their own vehicles, while others use the services of transport companies.
“Iryna’s grandmother, her father’s mother, was still in Mariupol. They were very close. My daughter decided to go see her and, together, pick up winter clothes, photographs, a hard drive from the computer, and other more or less valuable items. Of course, I was against this trip, but my daughter was 24 at the time. She made this decision, and besides, her grandmother called Irina every evening, crying on the phone, missing her granddaughter, and wanting to see her. Understandably, an elderly person had become more sentimental after all the terrible events. She was left there alone and didn’t want to leave. So Ira got her things together, found a driver, and left for Mariupol at the end of August.”
On September 27, Iryna stopped responding to messages. That same evening, a video was posted on a Russian news site showing her being interrogated. Ira says she wanted to blow up a polling station (from September 23 to 27, in the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Russia had occupied since February 24, 2022, a “referendum” on joining the Russian Federation took place—Svoi).
“What I saw and heard came as a shock to me. You know, ‘Ira wanted to blow it up’—those are two completely opposite ideas. Second, hurting people—that’s not her style either.
I’m sure they targeted her because of her last name—Navalna
At first, they detained her while they figured out the details, and then, apparently, they decided to fabricate a case against her. These are just my guesses, because there are no statements or witnesses who could say what actually happened. I don’t even know where she was arrested in the first place.”
Irina Navalna is charged with attempted terrorism. The young woman is being held against her will in the Donetsk pretrial detention center and faces the threat of life imprisonment. March 27 marks half a year since her arrest. According to Oleksandra, there hasn’t been a single court hearing during this time.
Her daughter is simply being held behind bars. She “celebrated” her 25th birthday
there
Her grandmother has only seen her granddaughter once—the young woman looks
terrible. On September 27, the day of her arrest and alleged confession, Iryna was brought in handcuffs to her grandmother’s home. A search was conducted there. After that, they took Iryna away, and for a month, there was no news about her.
“We searched everywhere: I did it remotely, while her grandmother traveled all over Mariupol and even made it as far as Donetsk. Everywhere we went, they said, ‘She’s not here.’ Then on October 26, exactly one month later, investigators from the ‘DPR Ministry of State Security’ came to her grandmother’s house and said they were opening a criminal case under the charge of ‘attempted terrorist attack.’ They took a statement from my grandmother. And from that moment on, the investigator handling Ira’s case began communicating with my mother-in-law. At first, there was a lawyer: initially she answered phone calls, but once she took money from my mother-in-law, she stopped answering the phone. The investigator doesn’t communicate with me at all. The only thing is—they ask my grandmother, “Why doesn’t her mother come, look for her, and get her daughter out of there?”
But as soon as I cross the “border,” they’ll immediately arrest me for my pro-Ukrainian stance. I think they’re trying to lure me out; they probably want to put me behind bars
, too. Iryna’s grandmother travels from Mariupol to Donetsk every two weeks to bring her granddaughter a care package at the pretrial detention center. They’ve only seen each other once.
“During the visit with her grandmother, my daughter couldn’t say anything because there was not only an investigator in the room with them, but also two other unknown, burly men. Well, at least she got to see her—that’s a blessing.”
Iryna looks terrible; she has sores and pimples all over her body and face.
“All the other girls are feeling terrible, too. Maybe it’s a reaction to the food or water. These sores itch, and the girls scratch them until they bleed. People who were released from the detention center as part of an exchange also have these sores. They won’t go away, and our doctors haven’t yet been able to determine what kind of illness this is or what’s causing it. So for now, they don’t know how to treat it.”
During the time that Irina Navalna has been in the detention center, her family has appealed to all “DNR” authorities.
“To Human Rights Commissioner Daria Morozova, the Ministry of Justice, the prosecutor’s office, and others. At first, they said she wasn’t anywhere to be found. And only at the end of November did they respond that Ira is in a pretrial detention center in Donetsk. I’ve also written to all Russian agencies: my appeals have been registered, but I haven’t received a single response from anyone. And, of course, I’ve gone through all these steps in Ukraine as well. I hope that the people involved in prisoner exchanges and releases will be able to secure my daughter’s release in the near future.”
This is an automatic translation generated by DeepL.
