Jailed Russian girl in Goa refuses to speak

21 May 2009, 1226 hrs IST, PTI

PANAJI: A 25-year-old Russian girl, jailed for overstaying and passport rule violations in Goa, has confounded prison authorities with her
ten-month-long silence, while her counsel said she was in a state of shock.

Violetta Gasanova, lodged at the Central Aguada Jail, has reportedly not spoken a single word since her arrest and subsequent conviction.

Jail officials said that attempts by Russian Consulate to get her speak by calling her mother from her home country has also turned futile.

The Russian tourist was even referred to State Government-run Institute of Psychiatric and Human Behaviour (IPHB) and treated for depression for one month.

Gasanova was arrested on August 4, 2008 from Anjuna on charges of overstaying and not possessing a passport and valid visa (passport was recovered later), police said. Same month, she was sentenced to one-year imprisonment by a local court.

She was in such a state of shock that I requested that her mother be called from Russia, Vikram Varma, lawyer for Russian Consulate, said.

Gasanova's mother visited her in the jail in January 2009 but even then she did not break her silence, the officials said. Sources in Russian Consulate said the girl may have been victimized, while Varma said she needs medical attention.

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