Conflicting stories over three cases of self-mutilation in a penal colony

Donetsk lawyer Serhiy Salov has met with the three prisoners involved in yesterday’s attempted suicide in Donetsk Penal Colony No. 124. He reported that the men had injured themselves in protest at the terrible conditions.

Mr Salov said that all three were in the colony hospital, that one had been operated upon, another – Oleksandr Lukashov still had a metal pun jutting out of the abdomen.  He asserted that Lukashov’s face and body showed clear marks from beatings.

Lukashov passed the lawyer a statement from the three prisoners in which they allege inhuman conditions in the colony, torture and beatings,  lack of hygiene and normal medical service.

The incident occurred on Thursday evening at around 17.00. 

In such situations there are often conflicting accounts.  The information agency UNIAN while reporting Mr Salov’s words, also previously reported a statement from the head of the Penal Unit’ department for social and educational work, Mykhailo Matanhin calling the reports “absolute nonsense”.

Based on reports at http://human-rights.unian.net