PETITION

to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)**

On urgent access to Svetlana Savelyeva and assistance in securing her release

We call on the International Committee of the Red Cross to take immediate action regarding civilian detainee Svetlana Savelyeva, who is currently deprived of her liberty in the Russian Federation.

Svetlana Savelyeva is a civilian convicted in a politically motivated case. She was imprisoned after falling in love with a Ukrainian citizen and planning to marry him. Russian authorities interpreted her personal relationship as a criminal act. According to the prosecution, she allegedly intended to cross the border and join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Svetlana maintained that she was attempting to travel to Ukraine to meet her fiancé, Oleksandr Chechotka. In April 2026, she was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment.

Following the verdict, 40-year-old Svetlana Savelyeva has been held in Kursk pre-trial detention center No. 1 under conditions amounting to incommunicado detention, without meaningful contact with the outside world. For over a month, her correspondence has effectively been blocked: letters are neither delivered to her nor sent from her, including those addressed to her mother and lawyer. According to her family, her appeal against the verdict was not forwarded within the required timeframe.

According to her mother, Lyudmila Afanasyeva, Svetlana’s health has sharply deteriorated. During her detention, she has developed serious medical conditions that she did not have previously, including disorders of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. Diagnoses include osteochondrosis, coxarthrosis, varicose veins of the lower limbs, and vertebrogenic cervicocranialgia. Her weight has dropped to a critical level — below 40 kilograms (88 lbs) at a height of 168 cm.

Her family reports that on April 15, 2026, detention center staff confiscated her prescribed pain medication and have not returned it. Furthermore, according to her mother, Svetlana has been subjected to physical violence, including beatings and electric shocks, which may have contributed to the deterioration of her health.

Additional concern arises from systematic pressure: disciplinary reports are allegedly fabricated against her, and preparations are reportedly underway to place her in a punishment cell or under harsher detention conditions. During searches, physical force is reportedly used.

During court hearings from December 2025 to April 1, 2026, Svetlana was reportedly kept in metal handcuffs for many hours at a time, including during transportation to and from court, causing her physical pain.

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, the use of torture and ill-treatment by security services is systematic and is used to extract confessions. Allegations in Svetlana Savelyeva’s case — including electric shocks, beatings, and threats — are consistent with the practices documented in the report.

Her family also reports that detention authorities attempted to coerce her into signing documents stating that she was at risk of self-harm. After she refused, she was nevertheless placed on a preventive register as “suicidal,” which may be used to justify further tightening of her detention conditions.

Following обращения её семьи, the Coordination Headquarters of Ukraine for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that information regarding Svetlana Savelyeva has been received and taken into account in its ongoing work. According to her fiancé, Oleksandr Chechotka, as of February 2026 she has been included by the Ukrainian side in lists for potential exchange.

In these circumstances, the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross is critical.

We call on the ICRC to:

• Ensure immediate access to Svetlana Savelyeva in her place of detention;
• Guarantee access to adequate medical care, necessary medication, and an independent medical assessment;
• End her effective isolation, including restoring communication with her family;
• Monitor possible cases of ill-treatment and pressure by detention authorities;
• Facilitate her transfer to Ukraine through humanitarian mechanisms, including exchange procedures.

The combination of incommunicado detention, denial of medical care, and credible reports of ill-treatment requires urgent international intervention. In the absence of transparency, the risk of irreversible harm to her life and health becomes critical.

We urge the International Committee of the Red Cross to use its mandate to protect Svetlana Savelyeva.

Freedom for Svetlana Savelyeva.
Access — immediately.

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PETITION

to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)**

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