Prosecutor’s Office published a video that depicts prisoners of Odessa SIZO being beaten and opened a number of proceedings

The Prosecutor’s Office of Odessa region investigates the facts of official negligence of the Odessa SIZO (pre-trial detention center) employees, which resulted in the murder of the employee.

As reported by Larysa Sargan, press-secretary of the General Prosecutor, on her Facebook page.

She also reported that the Prosecutor’s Office has detected the facts of inhuman treatment of the detainees immediately after the dismembered body of Olena Poroshenko, Junior Inspector of the Regime and Security Department, was found in the 5th sector of the Odessa SIZO on August 17. The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the abuse of authority.

“Blatant facts of treatment of prisoners by penitentiary staff were found out in the course of the further investigation. Due to this the Prosecutor’s Office has changed the legal qualification of the case to torture, which provides for 10 years of imprisonment”, – Larysa Sargan said.

“It was established that there is selective attitude of the institution’s employees towards some of the detainees by giving them preferences. Thus, after the murder of the SIZO employee the searches and “establishment of order” was conducted not in all cells and not even in all sectors. Several places of detention were not even checked for compliance with regime requirements”, – the press-secretary said.

She notes that the prison documentation, which was studied by the investigators of the Prosecutor’s Office, bears evidence of conducted searches and necessary measures in all cells. Therefore, the investigators began to investigate the fact of official forgery.

It is reported that investigators of the Prosecutor’s Office continue to conduct searches in the premises of the Odessa SIZO and in the administration of the penitentiary institution.

“The Prosecutor’s Office of the Odessa region has repeatedly noted violations of the detention conditions of convicts, detainees and their basic constitutional rights in the region. Only in 30 the Prosecutor’s Office has submitted 30 response documents on the violation of the requirements of the Law in the Odessa and Izmail SIZO”, – said Larysa Sargan.

She is convinced that the penitentiary system has long needed radical changes and a reset in the democratic direction.

“The murder of a girl and torturing detainees is a horrible example. What can we talk about when such a vivid example of a totalitarian regime as a portrait of Felix Dzerzhinsky is hanging on the wall. Criminal proceedings have been initiated on the obtained evidence under Article 436-1 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (distribution of communist, Nazi symbols by the representative of power, propaganda of communist and national-socialist, totalitarian regimes)”, – concluded Larysa Sargan.

Shortly before, the Ministry of Justice complained about underfunding as one of the factors that led to the murder of an employee of the Odessa SIZO.