By Worthy News Staff
(ADDS CONFISCATION OF PASSPORT, NIGHT IN UKRAINE HOSPITAL)
BUDAPEST/UZHHOROD (Worthy News)-- An elderly Christian Ukrainian woman who made international headlines for uncovering corruption in a key border area of Ukraine was "near death" Thursday, October 29, after she was prevented by Ukrainian border guards from seeking medical treatment in neighboring Hungary.
Svetlana Milchevich, 63, is the mother of journalist Agnes R. Bos, co-founder of Worthy News partner agency BosNewsLife. She had been pressured by authorities to halt procedures against alleged corrupt officials.
Milchevich has a permanent residence permit in Hungary. Hungarian officials were monitoring the case, but said they could not intervene as she was hold up at a border post across a bridge on Ukrainian territory. Border guards cited a "court ruling" but could not provide documents. Her passport was confiscated, Bos said.
Milchevich was later brought to a run-down hospital in Uzzhorod, where she was expected to stay the night before proceedings at a local court against the confiscation of her passport.
INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
There has been international concern over the reported cooperation between corrupt business people and authorities. Milchevich became internationally known for leading an unregistered advocacy group of citizens in the border town of Uzhhorod, including Christians, who lost lands and other properties because of apparently corrupt authorities.
BosNewsLife and Worthy News extensively covered the situation in Uzhhorod, a crucial gateway towards the European Union, in close cooperation with Milchevich.
The Christian woman and her supporters were also involved in an open letter to Ukraine's president, known as 'a cry for justice' which was quoted in many media.
Hungarian officials linked the stand-off to the reporting on corruption and filming by a Belgian television crew. "It is terrible. My mother is dying from what we believe to be cancer. She has lost many kilo's and is not able to walk. I don't know what to do," said Agnes R. Bos speaking by telephone from the Ukrainian border.
Her mother was advised to seek treatment in Hungary, where medical facilities are according to European Union standards. "We are extremely concerned about the situation of Ms. Milchevich who seems to have been targeted for her human rights work," BosNewsLife News Agency said in a statement. "This treatment seems to resemble the Communist era in Ukraine." (This is a developing story).