The System Kills Twice: Serhiy Trotsko Has Died
On 10 December, Serhiy Trotsko died in the intensive care unit of the Mechnikov Dnipro Regional Clinical Hospital. He was a man with a severe traumatic brain injury whom prison doctors had been treating for bronchitis.
A shocking video has circulated on the internet showing a young man with a dent in his head, unable to move independently, unable to speak, and barely able to answer ‘Yes or no?’ as flies crawl across his face. At the time, he was being held in Sofiyivka Multi-profile Hospital No. 45, a branch of the State Institution ‘Healthcare Centre of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine’ in Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions – not for his severe neurological issues, but for bronchitis.
We were unable to save him. He was killed twice by a system of inaction and indifference: first, by allowing a brutal beating to occur, and second, by covering up a severe injury and failing to provide proper medical care. As part of criminal proceedings, we are appealing to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, calling for a forensic medical examination to determine the cause of death, and the presence, origin, nature, and severity of his bodily injuries.
