The Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons received six applications from candidates for membership on the Board for the period from September 2025 to August 2028. Voting for the candidates will take place from 12 to 25 August.
Information about the start of voting and other details will be shared additionally by email and on our website.
Below are the candidates’ motivations, experience, and views on key challenges related to ensuring the right to health in prisons.
VAZHA KASRELISHVILI
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
The rights and health of people in prison remain a challenge for the countries of our region. Events in Georgia over the past two years, including the adoption of undemocratic laws and human rights violations by state institutions, have demonstrated how fragile democracy is in our country.
In 2012, the current ruling party came to power promising to strengthen democratic institutions and introduce legislative changes that would improve the human rights situation in the country, including in prisons. For several years, the situation did indeed improve. Prisons became relatively transparent, the number of people in prison was reduced by half as a result of an amnesty, and democratic legislative changes were introduced with the participation of civil society organisations.
However, in recent years, this progress has been radically reversed. The state has moved away from the democratic path, as reflected in the adoption of anti-democratic laws, such as the laws on foreign agents and grants. Laws restricting the rights of various vulnerable groups have also been adopted. Drug legislation has been tightened, compulsory drug testing has been reinstated, and compulsory treatment has been introduced. State institutions have effectively declared war on non-governmental organisations and independent media.
Under these circumstances, normal cooperation with state institutions has become impossible, while penitentiary institutions have effectively become closed to civil society organisations.
I believe that in other countries of the region represented in the Movement, the situation regarding the rights and health of people in prison is also challenging. Therefore, taking into account the circumstances described above, I believe that Board membership would give me an opportunity to work together with colleagues to identify solutions and ways to improve the rights and health of people in prison under the current conditions.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
I have more than twenty years of experience working in Georgia’s penitentiary institutions. I have managed projects aimed at improving the health of people in prison and have also been involved in advocacy.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
The biggest problem is the lack of transparency: prisons have become virtually closed to civil society organisations. As a result, we have very little information about problems related both to human rights and to the health of people in prison.
NATALYA MINAYEVA
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
I want to become a member of the Board because I cannot stand aside when I see people in prison being denied basic rights — the rights to health, protection, and respect. For more than ten years, I have been working alongside people who have experienced imprisonment and who want healthcare to be accessible, timely, and effective.
I believe that every person deserves support, especially in such closed and vulnerable settings. For me, participation on the Board is not about status but about an opportunity to change the system from within, amplify the voices of those who are usually not heard, and achieve real changes in the penitentiary system.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
For more than ten years, I have been working with people in places of detention, as well as with people who have been released or are under probation supervision. My experience includes facilitating access to medical, social, and legal services, including services related to HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, drug dependence, and opioid substitution therapy.
I am the Executive Director of the ResSocium Foundation, whose mission is to protect the rights of and support people who have become vulnerable as a result of imprisonment. We assist people in submitting appeals to state authorities, support their resocialisation, and provide consultations on access to services.
For four years, I was a member of the National Preventive Mechanism and participated in monitoring visits to penitentiary institutions. I currently continue visiting a women’s prison as part of a pilot project supporting women in prison who use drugs. This experience gives me an inside perspective on the systemic barriers people in prison face when trying to exercise their right to health.
As the head of the public association “Nursenim,” I actively cooperate with local government authorities and promote an initiative to establish a shelter for people released from places of detention. This area is critically important for successful resocialisation and reducing the risk of reoffending.
In addition, I represent the interests of the community of people with experience of imprisonment on the Country Coordinating Mechanism under the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
I have a strong understanding of national legislation and international human rights protection mechanisms and have experience working both at the grassroots and strategic levels. My goal is to achieve systemic change so that the right to health for people in places of detention becomes a reality rather than a formality.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
In my view, some of the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in Kazakhstan’s prisons are systemic obstacles affecting both the organisation of the healthcare system and everyday practice.
First, access to necessary healthcare is limited, particularly with regard to HIV — in some penitentiary institutions, antiretroviral therapy is not dispensed directly to people receiving treatment — tuberculosis, where adequate diagnostics are lacking, viral hepatitis, where diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C are unavailable, and drug dependence, where opioid agonist maintenance therapy is unavailable.
Although these services are formally provided for, in practice people in prison face delays in diagnosis and shortages or absence of medicines. Access to opioid substitution therapy and comprehensive care for people with drug dependence in places of detention remains unavailable.
Second, stigma and discrimination remain a serious barrier, both among prison staff and within the healthcare system. This particularly affects women in prison and people who use drugs, whose rights are systematically violated.
Another important barrier is the absence of effective mechanisms for appealing against violations: people in prison are afraid to file complaints, while existing oversight mechanisms often do not function properly. Public influence, including that of human rights organisations, is limited.
Finally, there is a disconnect between the penitentiary and civilian healthcare systems. This creates difficulties in transferring patients and medical information and leads to people being lost to care after release.
Without removing these barriers, it is impossible to speak of the full realisation of the right to health in prisons.
OLEKSII ZAHREBELNYI
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
In 2020, I initiated the creation of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons. I have a clear understanding of the Movement’s mission and role in ensuring that people in prison have access to quality healthcare and essential services. I believe in the potential of the community to fundamentally improve the situation in prisons across the EECA region.
In a relatively short period of time, the Movement has established strong and productive partnerships among initiative groups and organisations bringing together people with experience of imprisonment. This pace of development is inspiring and gives me confidence that the Movement will continue to grow by introducing innovative areas of work and expanding geographically, bringing in new motivated members from other countries of the region.
My active participation in the Movement gives me an opportunity to meet new and interesting people, improve my professional skills, and feel part of a major story of change.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
Since 2000, I have worked in the field of harm reduction related to drug use. In 2006, I headed a self-organisation of people who use drugs which, among other areas of work, provided a range of medical and social services for people in prison and people released from detention.
Since 2018, I have served as Chair of the Board of FREE ZONE — an organisation that represents the interests of people in prison and people released from detention at the national level as part of the National Council on Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
During this time, the FREE ZONE team and its partners advocated for the introduction of needle and syringe programmes in Ukrainian prisons, contributed to the development of opioid substitution therapy programmes, and created a sustainable system of social adaptation for vulnerable groups of people in prison during preparation for release and after release from places of detention.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
- Stigma and discrimination against people in prison and people released from detention
- Limited access to healthcare and essential services
- The low priority given to the “prison issue” on the agendas of global donors and international organisations working in humanitarian assistance and human rights
RUSLAN POVERGA
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
More than 20 years of my professional life have been dedicated to work aimed at upholding human rights, because human life is an absolute value. Improving the quality of life of every person is a worthy goal.
With this in mind, I understand that people who are particularly vulnerable and whose rights are violated most severely require special attention and care. When we talk about people serving prison sentences, we clearly understand the degree of their vulnerability, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Prisons are among the places where pain, loneliness, and hopelessness are concentrated to an extreme degree. This understanding motivates me to fully share the goals and mission of the Movement.
I place particular value on being part of an international team, because it provides a unique opportunity to move forward, exchange experience, and support one another.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
I am part of a team that for more than 20 years has been developing and implementing prevention, care, and support services, as well as programmes for preparation for release and subsequent resocialisation of people serving sentences. Our team has achieved significant success not only in service delivery but also in achieving numerous advocacy goals.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
In my view, stigma and discrimination remain the underlying problem. The closed nature of penitentiary services and the level of intersectoral cooperation also play an important role.
There continues to be a shortage of human resources both among penitentiary staff and within the non-governmental sector involved in working with people in prison.
In most countries, the main challenge remains the continued separation between healthcare in the civilian sector and in the penitentiary system and, as a consequence, differences in the quality of medical services.
NATALYA ZELENINA
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
My motivation is to do as much as possible to improve the quality of life of people held in prisons and penal colonies — especially women. Unfortunately, women serving sentences today are even less protected.
Based on my own experience of imprisonment, I know what women need. As an activist, I will try to find opportunities to improve women’s conditions of detention and ensure access to treatment and social services.
Working as part of such a strong team in our organisation, I am confident that together we can change people’s lives for the better. My main qualities are strong communication skills, tolerance, honesty, and a sense of justice. I live openly and without hiding who I am.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
I do not have extensive professional experience in this field, but while I was in a women’s prison, I tried to monitor access to HIV treatment and ensure that viral load and TB diagnostics were carried out on time.
Thanks to my knowledge, I was able to ensure that women could keep their ART medicines with them so that they would not miss doses because of healthcare staff.
All of this took place in Women’s Penal Colony No. 127 in Snizhne, Donetsk Oblast, in territory not controlled by Ukraine.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
Pressure from the police, which disrupts continuity of opioid substitution therapy. In order to obtain confessions, they prevent people from accessing OST.
There is also reluctance on the part of prison and penal colony administrations to open OST facilities in their institutions. Especially now, everything is blamed on the war, and no one pays attention to us.
RUSTEM KAISAGALIYEV
Please describe your motivation for contributing to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons:
Motivation to contribute to the development of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons can be multifaceted and may depend on personal, social, and humanitarian factors. Here are several aspects.
- Humanitarian responsibility
Participation in this Movement is a step towards protecting human rights, including the rights of people in prison, who often lack access to quality healthcare. Prisons are places where the rights and health of people serving sentences are particularly at risk.
Motivation may stem from a deep sense of humanitarian responsibility, a desire to protect vulnerable people, and a commitment to ensuring dignified living conditions.
- Fighting injustice
In countries where the rights of people in prison are frequently violated, advocating for the right to health in prisons can be part of a broader struggle for justice and equality.
Many people in prison experience discrimination, which results in deterioration of their physical and mental health. Participation in the Movement can be an attempt to change this situation by proposing concrete changes in policy, legislation, and practice.
- Raising public awareness
Participation in the Movement may be motivated by a desire to increase public awareness of problems in prisons. It is important to communicate to a wider audience that the right to health is not a privilege but a fundamental human right.
Activists working in this field may seek to change public attitudes towards people in prison and the problems of prison healthcare and to improve living conditions in places of detention.
- Prospects for systemic change
Engagement in such a movement provides an opportunity to influence the development and amendment of legislative initiatives that can lead to real improvements.
It may provide an opportunity to work with human rights defenders, lawyers, medical professionals, and policymakers to reform the prison healthcare system.
- Personal involvement and experience
Motivation can also be personal: some people may have experience working with people in prison, healthcare personnel, or human rights organisations.
Personal experience in human rights work or an encounter with injustice may inspire a person to work towards improving conditions and ensuring justice for people in prison.
- International solidarity and cooperation
The Eurasian Movement operates in an international context and involves cooperation among different countries and cultures.
Motivation may be linked to the idea of international solidarity and the goal of creating a system in which all countries strive to improve conditions for people in prison regardless of the political situation in a particular country.
Overall, participation in such a movement is a step towards creating a fairer and more humane world in which every person, regardless of their circumstances, has the right to appropriate treatment and protection of their fundamental rights.
Please tell us about your experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health in prisons:
Experience in providing services in prisons and advocating for the right to health of people in prison:
Cooperation with various human rights organisations and state institutions, provision of comprehensive legal and medical support to people in prison, and work to ensure their right to health in conditions of isolation.
Key achievements:
- Advocacy for the rights of people in prison: Active participation in campaigns aimed at improving prison conditions, including compliance with healthcare standards. Work on legislative initiatives ensuring access to quality healthcare for people serving sentences, including in the areas of psychiatry, infectious diseases, and chronic illnesses.
- Training and education of staff: Conducting training sessions and seminars for penitentiary staff to raise awareness of the rights of people in prison and their basic medical needs. Development of methodological materials on human rights in the context of the prison system.
- Legal counselling: Providing legal consultations to people in prison on healthcare rights and preparing applications and complaints to international human rights bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights.
- International cooperation: Cooperation with international human rights organisations to exchange experience and develop joint recommendations for improving access to healthcare services for people in prison. Participation in conferences and roundtables on human rights in prisons.
- Addressing human rights violations: Investigation of violations of the right to health of people in prison, including violence and lack of access to medical procedures, and taking measures to protect their rights through judicial and international mechanisms.
- Monitoring and reporting: Conducting regular monitoring of healthcare services in institutions and preparing reports and recommendations for state authorities and human rights organisations.
What are the main barriers to ensuring the right to health in prisons in your country?
Ensuring the right to health in Kazakhstan’s prisons faces several key barriers, which can broadly be divided into the following categories:
- Shortage of medical personnel and resources
• Lack of specialists: Prisons often lack doctors and healthcare personnel, particularly specialised physicians. This results in inadequate diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, especially chronic and infectious conditions.
• Lack of modern medical equipment: Many correctional institutions are not equipped with the necessary diagnostic and treatment equipment, limiting the possibility of providing timely and effective care.
- Problems with access to healthcare services
• Geographical isolation: Prisons in Kazakhstan are often located in remote regions, which makes it difficult to access highly qualified healthcare services and specialised institutions.
• Availability of healthcare: In some institutions, people in prison may face long waiting periods for medical care, especially when they need specialists who are not available within the institution.
- Problems related to infectious diseases
• Spread of tuberculosis and HIV: Tuberculosis and HIV prevalence is high in Kazakhstan’s prisons. People in prison are often at risk of infection due to overcrowding, poor living conditions, and limited medical oversight.
• Mental health conditions: Many people in prison experience mental health disorders that are often ignored or inadequately treated due to a shortage of specialised institutions and professionals.
- Poor nutrition and living conditions
• Nutrition: Low-quality and monotonous food in prisons, often insufficient in calories and vitamins, leads to deterioration in the general health of people in prison.
• Poor living conditions: Overcrowded cells, poor ventilation, and inadequate sanitation contribute to the development of diseases and create chronic health problems.
- Lack of legal protection and human rights violations
• Lack of oversight of the rights of people in prison: In some cases, people in prison do not have sufficient access to human rights organisations, making it more difficult to raise healthcare-related concerns and obtain adequate medical care.
• Problems with medical documentation: People in prison are not always able to access their medical records or obtain support when seeking legal remedies in cases where medical care has been denied.
- Lack of psychological support and rehabilitation
• Psychological pressure and stress: The prison system often fails to provide sufficient psychological support, which may lead to psychosomatic illnesses and increased stress.
• Problems with rehabilitation: The lack of psychosocial rehabilitation programmes means that many people in prison are unable to successfully adapt to life after release.
- Corruption and systemic inefficiency
• Corrupt practices: In some cases, healthcare may be provided not on the basis of a person’s actual medical needs but through corrupt practices, with treatment or medicines made available only in exchange for bribes.
• Inefficient management: Due to insufficient oversight by independent organisations, problems with the quality of healthcare services frequently arise.
- Lack of effective oversight mechanisms
• Independent monitoring: Although Kazakhstan has organisations that monitor compliance with human rights, independent monitoring in prisons remains limited. This leads to insufficient transparency regarding the health of people in prison and neglect of their rights.
Improving the situation requires increased investment in the prison healthcare system, a larger healthcare workforce, better conditions of detention, active implementation of disease prevention programmes, and more effective oversight of compliance with the rights of people in prison.