URGENT ACTION

PRISONER DENIED SIGHT-SAVING TREATMENT

A female prisoner in Kazakstan, Inessa Karkhu, is not receiving essential medical treatment for glaucoma, a disease that progressively damages vision. If she is not treated immediately, she could end up losing her sight.

Inessa Karkhu, an accountant, is serving an eight-year prison sentence for fraud, handed down in 2007. She spent 10 months in pre-trial detention in Astana, Kazakstan's capital, during which time she says that her vision deteriorated. In February 2008 she was transferred to house arrest and was examined by an ophthalmologist who diagnosed her with glaucoma. She had an operation on her eyes in a public clinic the following month. However, according to her mother, a judge prevented Inessa Karkhu from visiting the clinic for post-operative treatment, and her sight deteriorated again. In July 2008 Inessa Karkhu was returned to the pre-trial detention centre in Astana. Her mother says that prison staff did not give her access to adequate treatment and that she had to rely on medication brought by her family. After Inessa Karkhu told her family that she was losing her vision, they arranged for an independent ophthalmologist to visit her. Tests carried out by the ophthalmologist confirmed that Inessa Karkhu had glaucoma and needed urgent medical treatment in order to save her sight. However, the prison authorities contested the independent medical findings and claimed that she did not need specialist medical care. In June 2009 Inessa Karkhu was transferred to a prison in Almaty, some 1,000 kilometres from Astana, which makes it very difficult for her family to visit and provide her with medication.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Kazakh, Russian, English or your own language;

• Urging the authorities to ensure that Inessa Karkhu receives immediate access to any medical treatment she may require, including surgery;

• Calling on the authorities to ensure that Inessa Karkhu be transferred to a public hospital with suitable facilities if no other hospital within the penitentiary system can meet her medical needs;

• Reminding the authorities that under international standards, everyone in custody should have access to appropriate medical care.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 NOVEMBER 2009 TO:

(Please note: Astana is five hours ahead of GMT, faxes maybe switched off outside office hours)