Prisoners on hunger strike at Colony No. 89 in Dnipropetrovsk

Following the unlawful deployment of a unit of Special Force Officers from the State Penitentiary Service on 5 July, a large number of prisoners have officially declared hunger strike.  Following the brutal beating to which prisoners were apparently subjected, many have fractured ribs, damage to internal organs such as kidneys, and broken jaw. According to Andriy Didenko from KHPG, this indicates the particular brutality of the unit on this occasion. Usually, in order to avoid leaving obvious proof, blows to the face are avoided.

For this reason, prisoners from the maximum security unit where the Special Forces officers were deployed, announced official hunger strike on 6 July and have asked for a meeting with the Prosecutor in charge of overseeing penal institutions from the Prosecutor General’s Office. They are demanding an improvement in conditions and guarantees that there will be no repeats of the recent visitation.

At a press conference on 12 July, at the UNIAN information agency in Kyiv, Andriy Didenko, Volodymyr Chemerys and others will present photos and videos providing evidence of what has taken place at Colony No. 89 in Dnipropetrovsk.