If they don’t kill him, we will definitely meet in freedom.” Human rights defender Bakhrom Khamroev is serving his sentence in the notorious Polar Owl colony. He is being denied medication and held in torture conditions

“If they don’t kill him, we will definitely meet in freedom.” Human rights defender Bakhrom Khamroev is serving his sentence in the notorious Polar Owl colony. He is being denied medication and held in torture conditions

▶️ What is happening

“He has noticeably lost weight, his face is pale,” says the wife of human rights defender Bakhrom Khamroev, Zukhra. Recently, for the first time in two years, she was able to see her husband during a long visit.

Khamroev is being held in IK-18 Polar Owl, and for almost nine months he spent continuously in SHIZO and PKT. The colonies in Kharp are considered some of the harshest in Russia; Alexey Navalny and Azat Miftakhov were previously transferred there.

“Bakhrom remains the same person, unbroken in spirit, defending his honor, freedom, life, and health in the face of a criminal torturing regime,” Zukhra wrote on social media.

But the human rights defender’s health has seriously deteriorated.

▶️ The “glass,” SHIZO, and denial of treatment

According to Zukhra, the abuse of Bakhrom began immediately after his transfer to Kharp in the summer of 2025. On the very first day, the human rights defender was put for four hours in the “glass,” a two-meter cage where it is impossible even to sit down.

“You think you will keep killing and torturing people without limit and escape punishment. Russia, through repression, is only accelerating the fall of this regime. You will not escape this punishment, you are all murderers and you will be on the list of those who will be coming for, and you will answer for your criminal acts,” Zukhra relayed the words her husband shouted from the cage when he became dizzy.

After that, the human rights defender was sent to SHIZO. There, his glasses and Quran were taken away, and in addition he was not given his medication for a month.

In winter, the administration refused to pass on warm clothes to him. Because of the constant cold and pressure, Khamroev began suffering severe pain, and later, as his wife says, his left leg temporarily went completely numb.

“The colony’s medical unit is a direct participant in this punitive torture machine,” says Zukhra.

▶️ Bakhrom Khamroev’s condition today

Bakhrom suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. Despite this, he is not given a personal glucometer or blood pressure monitor, and the necessary medications sent by relatives are returned.

According to his lawyer, Khamroev is being “slowly killed” in custody. But he himself is trying to keep his spirits up and thanks everyone who supports him:

“If they don’t kill me, we will definitely meet in freedom, talk, discuss the details, many things I want to say to everyone, to express my gratitude to many.”

💌 If you also want to support Bakhrom Khamroev, write him a letter. You can do this through our Vestochka service; it is easy and safe to use.

And we told the full story of the human rights defender’s case here.

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Bakhrom Khamroev / Photo: social media