The State Department for the Execution of Sentences has been told that its Instruction restricting access to penal institutions by civic organizations and journalists to certain times at the weekend needs to be changed

Recently imposed restrictions allowing access to penal institutions only at weekends demonstrate the unwillingness of the Department to cooperate with the public and foster a lack of openness which can foster abuse of prisoners’ rights

An attempt to establish what did actually happen in the Izyaslav Penal Colony and a reminder to the State Department for the Execution of Sentences that the days when they could conceal such outrages have passed

Yes, there was a special purpose unit brought into the Buchansk Penal Colony, supposedly because the penal administration couldn’t carry out a search themselves, however the Prosecutor General was unable to find any violence or incorrect behaviour

Beatings and torture are everyday in Ukrainian prisons, and the public have little way of finding out what is happening. Recent events in the Izyaslav Penal Colony No. 31 where an attempted hunger strike resulted in reprisals against the prisoners is just one disturbing example

At a press conference held by KHPG and La Strada – Ukraine on Monday, particular attention was given to the appalling use of specially trained units in penal institutions, as well as the intransigence of the Department for the Execution of Sentences

The author considers how much real control the public have over what goes on in penal institutions. He points to obvious failings and clear reluctance on the part of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences to cooperate with civic society. He presents serious proposals and invites wide discussion.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union has demanded that the Prosecutor General investigate the incident at the Buchansk Penal Colony on 7 June where it is alleged prisoners were beaten by members of an “anti-terrorist” unit in masks

Experts from the Council of Europe have criticized Ukraine for failing to analyze the recommendation on the running of the penal system made on the basis of three fact-finding missions to Ukraine

With such admirable intentions as to put an end to Ukraine’s high numbers of prisoners, including juvenile offenders, monitoring is certainly required to make sure they don’t remain good plans …

All that’s new in this long list of the problems of Ukraine’s penal institutions is the fact that it’s come from a State Committee

On 23 February the Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office acknowledged that the conditions in the Komsomolsk temporary holding unit where 13 people tried to cut their wrists two days ago are unsatisfactory.

Well-known human rights defender Semyon Gluzman, is seeking to ensure that at legislative level “voluntary confessions” are removed from police practice.

According to employees of the remand centre [SIZO] in the Poltava region, 13 remand prisoners attempted to cut their wrists on Wednesday because of the unsatisfactory situation with food. The inmates were also angered by the fact that they weren’t allowed daily food parcels from outside.

According to unofficial reports, the men were protesting over the conditions in the SIZO and at not being allowed parcels from outside

This number was 127 down on the figure for the previous year, making the mortality rate in penal institutions 4.6 per thousand inmates

Three years after Olha Belyak died through lack of medical care, and her parents were then treated with hideously insensitive callousness, the Shevchenkivsky District Court in Kyiv ordered the remand centre to pay compensation

KHPG has called for an investigation into the apparent use of a special unit (like OMON, or riot squads) in the Izyaslav Penal Colony on 25 January and allegations that the officers beat up prisoners

The lawyer of the victims in the case against ex-head of the Lviv SIZO [pre-trial detention centre] Vasyl Romanyshyn believes that the court investigation is being deliberately dragged out. The Halytsky Local Court has sent the case for further investigation.

Activist of the civic network OPORA, Taras Halatlyak reports that during a visit to Lviv by the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, it was agreed that the network would be given the opportunity to carry out monitoring in all Lviv region penal institutions