Violations of the Rights of Convicts in Zaporizhia Corrective Labor Colonies Revealed
The monitoring team has found that the administration of corrective labor colonies fails to comply with sanitary regulations and sets a stricter regime than is required by law.
According to the official website of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, a monitoring group consisting of representatives of the Department for the Implementation of the National Preventive Mechanism of the Secretariat of the Commissioner, the Zaporizhia regional Coordinator of Public Relations, and civic organizations visited Sofiivska colony (№ 55) and Berdyanska colony (№77).
The group visited Berdyanska colony to verify information about the beating of convicts who had arrived there on prison transfer. It was found that on February 27th, 2015, after the arrival of a new group of convicts into the colony, physical force was applied to several convicts.
In regards to this information, the Commissioner for Human Rights sent a letter to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine demanding for an effective investigation to be conducted.
Additionally, during the visit, the monitoring group was informed that the penal administration had established a much stricter regimen for inflicting punishments than was allowed by law. It was found that the staff directed other convicts to control the behavior of others. To this end, the convicts administered punishments outside of the law, including physical and psychological violence and humiliation.
Failures to comply with living conditions standards were also revealed. Cells in the disciplinary isolation unit and cell-type rooms are not properly provided with natural and artificial lighting and ventilation. Doctors are frequently absent, therefore a paramedic often performs the duties of the chief of the medical unit.
In Sofiivska corrective labor colony, the monitoring group noted that the institution does not address issues of placement. Adequate sanitation is not provided. The convicts complained that there are no legal consultations, issues associated with obtaining a Ukrainian passport take a long time to be resolved, and there is no information on the application procedure to the State Penitentiary Service, the prosecutor’s office, or the Commissioner for Human Rights. In the prison store, there is not even a minimal range of goods, especially hygienic products or stationery.
Participants of the monitoring group have found that the dormitory infrastructure is in need of major repairs. Several rooms are dirty and walls leak and are covered with mold. Sanitary facilities are not in proper condition and window frames have lost functionality from prolonged use.
Relevant reports will be sent to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine based on the results of the monitoring visit, identifying issues and recommendations for their elimination, and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine will be informed.
