HIV, drugs and prisons in Russia

Anya Sarang

Russia

• estimated 2 mln IDUs• 1,5 estimated HIV cases • HIV prevalence in IDUs reaches 75% in

some cities• HCV prevalence reaches 90%• Available drug treatment outdated,

ineffective, substitution banned• No gov’t funded HIV prevention

government approach: repression and criminalization

~ 1 mln people in prisons???While drug use per se is not criminal…possession of very small amounts isfaults in investigation and courts on drug cases:

majority of cases not thoroughly reviewed, based on false evidence, provocation (4 cases in ECHR) Courts as “notary’s offices for prosecutors accusations”high rate of incarceration sentencing no alternatives to sentencing (treatment)

Drugs and HIV prevention

• Over 55% male IDUs report prisons experience

• Over 50% inmates on drug related charges (st pete)

• Prisons as structural factors of HIV/TB transmission:– Drugs are available (study of 7 prisons

demonstrates 43% injected in prison, others confirm)

– Needles, drug treatment, and prevention not available

Drugs were around but you see a syringe is aforbidden thing... With drugs it is possible to hide themsomehow, somewhere, but well, how do you hide asyringe? So, if someone somehow got hold of asyringe—maybe they brought it in or stole itfrom the medical centre—then it was justsuperachievement. Then that syringe would dothe rounds and rounds and rounds of the wholecamp. And then you get loads of syphilis, AIDSand . . . Someone would shoot up once and then inthe course of the next 2 months about 20 peoplewould be in the isolation ward with viral hepatitis.(Barnaul, male, 18)

HIV and TB in prisons

• General conditions unhealthy and humiliating

• 56.000 of HIV+ (11% of all PLWHs)• 40.000 active TB• 4371 HIV+TB• In 2009 TB grew 14,0% in one year

Problems

• Prevention not available• Treatment of HIV regularly interrupted• Hepatitis C treatment not available• TB treatment of poor quality Russia is one of the main producers

of MDR-TB • No integration with outside services:

Stop treatment on release: – 20% on ART– 50% on TB medications

Fear: People are afraid to complaint and protect their rights!

Learn about prisons in Russia from first-hand personal testimonials!

www.rylkov-fond.ru