Prisoners’ rights in Ukraine 2014-2021: KHPG report

Overcrowding of prisons, violence in penal institutions, material conditions of detention and investigation of deaths and torture

Amendments to part 5, Art. 72 CC made it so one day of pre-trial detention counts as two days of imprisonment. Over the year and a half after the adoption of this provision, over ten thousand convicts have been released. Thus, the number of convicts has decreased sharply, leading to a reduction in the number of convicts in each PI. To illustrate: at the beginning of 2017, there were 60,399 convicted prisoners in Ukraine, by the end of 2018 – 55,121. There are 131 convicts per 100,000 of the population in Ukraine. This is based on the population of Ukraine as of November 1, 2018, which, according to State Statistics Service, was 42,029 million[1].

As of January 1, 2021, 49,823 people were detained in penitentiary institutions of Ukraine (as of January 1, 2020 – 52,863 people), including in 12 existing pre-trial detention centres and 17 penitentiary institutions with the function of a pre-trial detention centre (actually, yesterday’s pre-trial detention centres) – 16 673 persons (17 502 persons on 1.01.2020)[2]

In this regard, in 2018 the CMU passed a decree “On the Procedure for Optimizing the Activities of Pre-Trial Detention Facilities, Penitentiary Institutions and Enterprises of Penitentiary Institutions”. The activities of 17 PIs in total were suspended in accordance with this regulation. The selection of specific institutions for optimization was based on the number of inmates, even though the criterion here should have been material conditions of the premises.

Shostkivska PI no. 66 was among those to be suspended. The institution was designed for 14 blocks, all of which had already been renovated shortly before the suspension. It should be noted that there are plenty PIs in Ukraine with much worse conditions of detention; information about them will be given below. Said PIs are still working while all inmates of the Shostkivska PI had been relocated, leaving the institution empty[3]. Over the past two years, a number of PIs with satisfactory or good conditions of detention have been suspended while many institutions where conditions of detention are not in line with international standards have been ignored[4].

In 2020 the Ministry of Justice reported the sale of the suspended complexes of penal colonies in the nearest future[5]. Such statements of the state authorities contradict the former plans to temporarily suspend the PIs that would resume functioning if necessary. Given that the suspended penitentiaries were far from being the worst in terms of detention conditions, the wish of the Ministry of Justice to sell them raises a reasonable concern. In general, it is planned to close and sell up to a third of the penal colonies.[6] The Minister of Justice also stressed the plans to move the pre-trial detention centres outside of the cities and sell the building complexes of the pre-trial detention centres that are often located on the central streets.

In 2020 the Minister of Justice of Ukraine numerously stated the need of systemic reform of the penitentiary institutions, as well as the launch of an efficient mechanism of re-socialization of the convicts.[7] According to him, the reform of the penitentiary system aimed to allow individual punishment for each person depending on the needs. According to the Minister, for this purpose “Cassandra” program is created, designed for allowing the individual approach to each person. “Cassandra” is a program based on the artificial intelligence, which would automatically define the social danger of a person and the need to use the real detention for its correction. However, the exact launch date of the program is currently unknown. Furthermore, the program was already widely criticized, as the reliability of assessment made by artificial intelligence and the ability to transfer such important functions as social danger assessment to software seem questionable. The developer team of the project, the state of its testing and certification are also currently unknown.

The first stage of selling of the prisons took place in February 2021 – the auction for the sale of Irpin Correctional Centre No. 132[8]. However, the auction did not take place due to the lack of people willing to buy the buildings and the land plot of the correctional centre, although they were in direct proximity to Kyiv city. It became clear from the information that appeared in the media, that the causes of the failed auction were the inflated lot cost and the unsuitability of the correctional facility buildings themselves. In fact, in case of acquisition the next owner would have to demolish them, therefore, in fact, it was the sale of the land plot for construction with structures in the dangerous shape, rather than an integral property complex. At the same time, if one is to assess the value of the land plot of the institution, without the structures, it was much higher than the market one.

However, in 2019 – 2021, 27 penitentiary institutions were closed down in Ukraine.[9] Most of them were in economically attractive regions – in particular, in suburbs of Kharkiv, Lviv, in the direct centre of Odesa city. In our opinion, the selection of such institutions was carried out not on the criterion of their state, but on the assessment of the value of the property and the possibility to sell it. Thus, the real purpose of the reform is the sale of the buildings suitable for their use, and not the improvement of the detention conditions for the convicts.

In early June 2021 the Minister of Justice, Denys Malyuska, reported the first successful sale of a building of a penal colony in Ukraine. Lviv penal colony No. 48 was sold on the auction, and the price of the sale was three times bigger than the starting price. Instead, since February 2021 there were also several attempts to sell other institutions, however, the tenders failed each time due to the lack of participants[10].

According to the information provided by the MoJ, the funds required for improving living conditions for convicts at SCES facilities in 2015 amounted to UAH 274 million (including UAH 239.2 million of capital costs and UAH 34.8 million of current costs), in 2016 – UAH 470.6 million (including UAH 451.8 million of capital costs and UAH 18.8 million of current costs). The amount of capital and current costs used for these purposes in 2015 was UAH 26.4 million (UAH 6.1 million of capital costs and UAH 20.3 million of current costs), in 2016 – UAH 31.3 million (UAH 3.4 million of capital costs and UAH 27.9 million of current costs)[11]. Thus, the budget provided only 2.5% of the funds required for capital expenditures in 2015 and 0.7% in 2016.

There is a total underfunding of the state budget of penitentiary institutions for the improvement of detention conditions (acquisition of objects, materials, equipment and inventory). Most of the penitentiary institutions receive funding for this budget article in the amount of no more than 5% of the needs stated in the budget requests of the relevant institution. Thus, for example, according to the budget request of SI “Bozhkiv penal colony (No.16)” the estimated needs for 2020 to improve detention conditions constituted UAH 1,626 million, and the actually received funding constituted UAH 63,2 thousand, which is 3,87% of the estimated need, the needs of SI “Mashkiv penal colony (No.9)” for 2020 constituted UAH 1,26 million, actually received funds constituted UAH 29,8 thousand, which is 2,38% of the estimated need, the needs of SI “Naderzhishyn penal colony (No.65)” constituted UAH 1,817 million, the actually received funding constituted UAH 63,3 thousand, which is 3,48% of the estimated need.

In some PIs inmates do not have enough beds, which forces them to take turns sleeping. This practice is still widespread at PTDCs. People held at PTDCs complain about tiny cells (Kharkiv PTDC no. 27), poor lighting, lack of fresh air (Vinnytsia PI no. 1). In some cases, the cells do not have enough tables or even places to sit. Particularly problematic in this regard are the so-called transit cells, where convicts transported between PIs are kept. Constant violations of their rights are often forcing convicts to go on hunger strikes, harm themselves, etc. (Zamkova PI no. 58, Chernihiv PI no. 61). In 2018, courts ordered to force-feed no fewer than five convicts.

Conditions of detention in most PIs are unsatisfactory due to such factors as lack of living space, poor sanitary and material conditions, basement-like cells, poor temperature control and lighting, restricted access to fresh air and drinking water, etc. Proper conditions of detention are generally available only to convicts doing maintenance work, minors and women, as well as privileged persons. Due to extremely limited state funding, PIs are forced to save money on utilities as much as possible, making tap water available for limited amounts of time, purchasing a bare minimum of fuel and stocking up on firewood themselves, as well as keeping industrial areas without heating.

On April 27, 2020 the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Denis Maliuska, announced the creation of special paid cells with improved conditions of detention in pre-trial detention centres of Ukraine. He noted that he hoped for a prompt implementation of the relevant resolution. According to the Minister, such step is necessary, since the pre-trial detention centres are in much worse condition than the penitentiaries in which the people are held after they receive their sentences. The Minister of Justice said that the pre-trial detention centres receive less funds than the penitentiaries of Ukraine. The funding is not even sufficient to buy the bed linen, not to mention repairs and normal nutrition. If the repairs are carried out, they are often performed at the expense of the detained persons. The Minister reported that the paid cells provide for improved living conditions: for example, a cell would contain a refrigerator and a TV set, the freshest repairs, there will be more space for one person etc. A bit later there will be additional, improved nutrition, as budget funding covers only a minimal set of products. He also noted that currently the possibility of introducing several tariffs is considered: for a day, a week or a month[12]. The Minister of Justice also reported the plans to build several new prisons with exemplary conditions of detention, like the prisons in Norway. To that end it is planned to involve additional funding, including the funding from international donor organizations[13].

Such project was implemented in 2020 – 2021. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Justice, as of 16 March 2021, UAH 2 795 326 were received from the paid premises in the SIZOs. According to the Minister of Justice, all of them were used for improvement of the detention conditions in the free premises. As of early March 2021, 39 free premises for 280 places were repaired.

Such statements of the Minister of Justice are probably connected to the fact that in January 2020 ECtHR adopted a pilot judgment in the case “Sukachov vs Ukraine”, in which it stressed the existence of a structural problem concerning the inadequate detention conditions in the penitentiaries of Ukraine. The Court noted that that case concerned the repeated issue underlying the frequent violations of Art. 3 of the Convention by Ukraine. In particular, since the adoption of its first judgment concerning the detention conditions in Ukraine[14], ECtHR delivered 55 judgments (some of the cases had multiple applicants) in which it found the violations of Article 3 related to the poor conditions of detention in pre-trial detention centres. In a number of those decisions ECtHR also reached a conclusion that there were violations of Article 13 of the Convention because of the lack of effective domestic remedies for complaints under Article 3.

Most of the cases against Ukraine in which ECtHR found the violations of Article 3 of the Convention concerned the issues of overcrowding and other repeated problems related to the material conditions of the detention: inadequate sanitary and hygiene conditions, improper lighting and ventilation, the presence of insects and mould in the cells, limited access to shower, limited daily walks, the lack of privacy for the use of toilet, poor food quality etc. The violations were found in a great number of institutions in various regions of Ukraine. So, it really seems that the violations were not the results of an isolated accident or specific actions in each separate case. They were the consequences of a widespread structural problem which was a result of the bad functioning of their penitentiary system of Ukraine and insufficient guarantees against the treatment in breach of Article 3.

Despite these findings expressed by ECtHR concerning Ukraine almost yearly since 2005, the structural problem still remains unsolved on the domestic level. Indeed, according to the database of ECtHR case management, around 120 prima facie winning applications against Ukraine connected to the complaints about the conditions of detention are currently pending in ECtHR. This number taken alone indicates the existence of a repeated structural problem.

The Committee of Ministers also found the structural nature of the problem of detention conditions in Ukraine. It controlled the implementation of the Court judgments concerning the detention conditions since 2005. In December 2018 it adopted an interim Resolution in which it again stressed the structural nature of this problem. It observed that in the previous decisions it has already called for state authorities of Ukraine to take decisive measures in order to create preventive and compensation remedies in order to resolve that issue. Although some steps were taken, no concrete progress has been made, which also imposed an unnecessary burden on Convention system. Therefore, the Committee of the Ministers stressed the urgent need of authorities to continue working on adoption of a long-term complex strategy capable of solving these structural problems, with clear and binding terms for the relevant measures and provision of the required resources.

Taking into account the current considerations and the current problem which existed for many years, a significant number of people affected or which can be affected by that problem and the urgent need to provide them with the necessary and appropriate redress on the domestic level, ECtHR applied the procedure of pilot decision in that case and obliged Ukraine, supervised by the Committee of Ministers, to take a number of actions directed at decreasing the overcrowding of the cells in the penitentiary institutions and at improvement of the detention conditions, as well as at development of the efficient remedies for the potential applicants[15].

Nutrition standards for convicts adopted by the CMU Resolution no. 336 of June 16, 1992 (hereinafter – Nutrition Standards) do not meet the standards set by the MoH, as required by the European Prison Rules. Nutrition Standards also do not provide for different rations depending on religion, culture or nature of a convict’s work (except for those engaged in hard labour). There are also no special norms for people with AIDS, HIV, leprosy, gout, circulatory diseases and other serious illnesses. Para. 2 of the Procedure for the Application of Nutrition Standards for Convicts states that persons with gastrointestinal disorders, on doctor’s orders, are to be provided with food based on dietary norms during outpatient treatment. However, no more than 3% of a PI’s population get dietary nutrition.

In most PIs, the food has bad organoleptic properties; cooked meals don’t have enough meat; food supplies get spoiled because of poor storage conditions yet are still used in cooking. In addition, problems occur with food deliveries to PIs. Thus, at the Dnipro PI no. 4, rations have had no meat for a month now, and there are no potatoes in stock. At the Chornomorska PI no. 79, female convicts had to eat nothing but fish for every meal for almost a month, as there were no meat deliveries, while neighbouring PIs from the very same city (Odesa) did have a supply of meat. In some cases, PIs were getting food of poor quality (Voznesenska Correctional Colony no. 72).

The CPT in its September 6, 2018 report to the Government of Ukraine prepared based on its visit to Ukraine from 8 to 21 December 2017, also brought up the issue of terrible prison food[16]. According to the CPT, a large number of convicts, including those undergoing medical treatment (paras. 119 and 120), complain about poor quality of food, lack of its variety as well as food shortages (para. 70). The 2015, 2016 and 2017 US Embassy reports also state that the issue of poor nutrition in Ukrainian prisons remains unresolved[17]. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights also mentions poor food in PIs in the 2017 annual report (paras. 196, 227-229). According to the report, the Nutrition Standards require vegetables, such as cabbage, beets, carrots, onions and cucumbers, to be provided to convicts daily, yet in many PIs inmates get no fresh vegetables at all. The Commissioner also emphasizes the issue of improper application of food substitution provisions, particularly the unjustified and unauthorized change of food products. This food substitution, which by law should only be used in the event of temporary shortages of certain food products, is treated as a general rule, which has resulted in a virtual absence of natural food products on PI menus, particularly protein-rich food, vegetables and fruits. As a result, some convicts essentially rely on the food that they receive from their families in order to survive. Some of them, particularly those held at PTDCs, do not touch the food prepared at these institutions at all.

When brought to court hearings on their cases in courts located in regional centres, people get no dry food rations and are therefore forced to go hungry on these days.

On December 27, 2018, the Government adopted new Nutrition Standards, which are taking effect on January 1, 2020. The new norms do not contain a calculation of the energy value of prison food products. In addition, they state that food substitution is done in order to diversify the prisoners’ menu, to comply with doctors’ advice or in the absence of other food products in stock. This could open the door to all sorts of abuses by PI administrations, allowing them to change the convicts’ menu constantly. In addition, funding for prison nutrition under new standards is done based on what’s left in the budget, which is bound to have an adverse effect on the availability and quality of food at PIs. Later the introduction of new Norms of nutrition was postponed by a year.

Despite the significant changes in Internal Labour Regulations of the penitentiary institutions concerning the permissions for the convicts to use microwave ovens, which could potentially improve the quality of food, a number of problems remains unsolved. In particular, the convicts express the wish to organize their nutrition on their own, if the state cannot provide them with food. However, since the cereals, vegetables and other products, subject to heat treatment, were included in the list of the items that are prohibited to be kept by the convicts, they in fact cannot arrange their food. The convicts are also prohibited to use multicookers which are more comfortable for the preparation of food in the conditions of a correctional colony. The above-mentioned prohibitions do not have any legal basis, in particular, they are not directed at ensuring safety in PI or at correcting the convicts (they even contradict the latter). After our requests the state authorities were not able to provide the motives for such decision.

Besides, the quality of food in PIs is deteriorating because of abuse by the state authorities. In late 2019 SBI reported that two Deputy Heads of the state institution of the South-Eastern Interregional Department on the Execution of Criminal Punishments and Probation, located in Kharkiv region, were detained during the sale of food purchased for the convicts.

According to preliminary information: the officials wrote off the food for the convicts purchased by the Ministry of Justice, and sold it in bulk from the territory of Kharkiv prisons. The detained persons were given notice of suspicion of abuse of power or position which caused severe consequences (pt. 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). In two months of illegal activity there was documented theft and sale of food by the officials in the amount of 500 thousand hryvnias. About three tons of frozen fish and meat were seized during the attempt of two minivans with food to leave the territory of one of the prisons[18].

According to the information provided by the National Preventive Mechanism in 2019 – 2020, in most of the visited institutions the food was brought to the individual objects of the institution in the plastic buckets, dirty packs and rusty containers, which affected its quality. During the conversations the convicts criticized the quality of food in the diner and stated that the improvement of food quality only takes place in the days when the institution is visited by the supervision bodies[19]

The institutions hold the convicts with health conditions who need constant supervision and assistance. However, contrary to the international and domestic norms (in particular, SBC В.2.2-40:2018 “Inclusiveness of the buildings and structures”) institutions do not have a comprehensive living conditions for people with special needs. There are no handrails, ramps, special holding cells, technical means of rehabilitation and medical specialists to provide appropriate conditions for the rehabilitation of this category of prisoners. In addition, the facility does not have adapted toilets and showers, special beds and handrails. This can be described as cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.

After amendments were made to the CPC that allowed everyone to visit PIs, including members of public oversight councils operating within regional departments of the penitentiary service as well as assistants of Ukrainian MPs who can bring along members of the press and doctors, our organization has been sending monitors to various PIs since late 2014, revealing numerous violations of convicts’ rights. These visits became a source of invaluable first-hand information on the actual state of observance of prisoners’ rights. Each visit’s details are available to the public on the KHPG website Human Rights in Ukraine: http://khpg.org.

A typical example here is the situation with conditions of detention at the Zhovtovodska PI no. 26. None of its blocks meet the required standards. Almost all cells in the residential area are in unsanitary, neglected condition. Dampness is everywhere. Lighting in living quarters is either very poor or non-existent. To get to the residential area, it is necessary to walk down a pitch black corridor and stairs. According to the inmates, lights are usually turned on before dark until bedtime. The residential area has densely packed iron beds with thin mattresses, which are causing inmates back pains. Moreover, the cells are overcrowded.

The walls of some living quarters in the residential area are covered with fungus and mould, as well as traces of moisture leaks. All premises have a strong smell of dampness, making it difficult to breathe, and the inmates have to sleep, eat and do exercises in these dangerous conditions. There were also complaints that the premises are infested with fleas and cockroaches. Only one block had boiled drinking water, others only had tap water. The quality of such water is very low; a cup of it leaves a residue of rust after 24 hours and could even have white worms in summer.

According to the inmates, the temperature in living quarters at night drops to 8-10 °C, or 3-5 °C during winter. This is despite the fact that the PI has its own boiler room for heating. The inmates have to sleep fully clothed and covered with several blankets. Water pipes are all rusty as well as leaking in places, which causes occasional floods.

Bathrooms at the PI are in a terrible state. The faucets don’t work properly and the walls are stripped of tiles. The toilet rooms have an unbearable smell. Each block has 4 to 6 toilet cabins, so the inmates have to wait in line to relieve themselves. There are no doors in the toilets and partitions in some blocks are no more than 50 centimetres in height. Plumbing is in disrepair.

According to the prisoners, even cold tap water is provided only for 2 hours a day. As a result, they are forced to collect water in tanks and make do with that. The stench in the toilets is made even worth by the lack of water in the flushing tanks. There is mould on the ceiling and window sills of the mess hall; the mess hall itself has a damp smell. There is no dietary menu, even though the PI has inmates with diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders[20].

One month after April 23, 2019, a bill was registered in the Parliament with a proposal to revoke the right of certain parties to visit PIs for oversight and inspection at any time without explicit permission (accreditation), including assistants to Ukrainian MPs as well as members of public oversight councils of the SCES and its territorial units (interregional departments)[21]. However, this bill was not adopted before the dissolution of the previous Parliament.

However, on 14 April 2021 the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine announced the start of the civil consultations concerning the Draft Law “On creation of the double system of the regular penitentiary inspections” and “on amending the Code of Ukraine on administrative offences concerning the creation of the double system of the regular penitentiary inspections»[22]. The aim of the Draft Law is the creation of a system of the regular internal (administrative) and external penitentiary inspections for providing the oversight over the lawfulness in implementation of judgments in criminal cases, in the use of other coercive means related to the restriction of the personal liberty of the citizens. However, that Draft Law, like the previous draft law, limits the list of persons having unrestricted access to the penitentiary institutions. In particular, it once again suggests to exclude the assistant deputies of Verkhovna Rada, the deputies of VR of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local councils from the list of such persons.

Violence against prisoners in the penitentiary system

The issue of acts of violence perpetrated by PI administrations against convicts remains unresolved. According to the MoJ, only one convict complained of torture in 2014, 15 convicts in 2017, 46 in 2018 and 77 in 2019. In 2014-2019, MoJ representatives conducted 68 monitoring visits (inspections) to PIs, in the course of which they received no complaints of ill-treatment from the inmates. Since 2014, no member of prison staff has been prosecuted for torturing inmates. In response to our inquiry, the SCES provided the following information on complaints submitted by convicts in 2014-2018 regarding the use of inappropriate methods of coercion[23]:

Information about similar complaints received by the PG’s Office, which is responsible for supervising execution of sentences[24]:

However, this information contradicts media reports as well as facts documented by human rights defenders[25]. Thus, according to inmates of the Temnivska PI no. 100, they are effectively barred from filing complaints against the administration out of fear of torture and ill-treatment. This situation is typical for PIs, especially those with stricter security regimes. Inmates that try to complain about the staff’s actions and protect their rights are usually put in higher security blocks. Convicts are also frequently beaten by prison staff for violating regulations, including minor ones (such as loud conversations among inmates).

In 2019, there was a spike in violence, with mass beatings of convicts by special units taking place over a short period of time (several months) in five PIs. At the end of February 2019, instances of mass beatings and degrading of convicts by other inmates – so-called "helpers of the administration" – once again occurred at the Berdyansk PI no. 77. Members of the public and the press visited the Berdyansk PI no. 77 to see the inmates and document torture incidents. The administration helpers there are constantly beating up newcomers among the convicts. Right at the quarantine zone, they are often tied up for several days, beaten several times a day, including on the heels and forced to exercise naked in the cold; they have needles inserted under their fingernails and nails hammered into their feet and hands; there have also been instances of rape. Families of the convicts are forced to pay large sums of “security” money to certain bank accounts to keep their loved ones safe. Recently, in violation of Article 24 CPC, public monitors – assistants of Ukrainian MPs – were not allowed inside the colony on three occasions. A criminal investigation was launched following the complaints of the convicts’ families. with a group of convicts recognized as victims and provided with security measures, as they have become targets of retaliation for complaining about the administration. Still, there is little hope that the investigation will be effective (see comments to questions nos. 12 and 34).

A widespread practice in PIs involves having some inmates supervise others or take action to keep others in line. Thus, there are so-called “order enforcement groups” at the Temnivska PI no. 100, which include inmates selected by the staff. The administration delegates to these inmates the responsibility of keeping other convicts in line and supervising their behaviour, participating in general and personal searches, escorting convicts to the officers on duty if they violate regulations, etc. According to the inmates, the members of these groups are authorized by the administration to use physical and mental violence against other inmates.

Systemic are the facts of degrading treatment of certain categories of convicts, the so-called ”outcasts”, by the personnel of the institutions of the penitentiary system and the general number of the convicts. Such persons are forced to remain in unsuitable premises, perform the dirtiest works, being constantly subjected to ill-treatment by the personnel and the rest of the convicts. For example, the employees of the National Preventive Mechanism in SI “Starobabanivska PC (No. 92)” (the visit took place in March 2019) documented six sleeping places for persons rejected by the majority of convicts, located in the unsuitable premise which was a room of 6,5–7 sq.m, without proper natural lighting, ventilation and free personal space[26].

In March 6, 2019, a general search was conducted at the Zhovtovodska PI no. 26. At about 10 a.m., armed men in black uniforms, with faces hidden by balaclavas, entered the colony. It is unknown what unit they belonged to since all they had in terms of identification were chevrons with the letters “ГШР” (GShR, rapid response team). The punishment block was the first to be searched, then the residential area. At the punishment block, the inmates were simply thrown out of their cells and forced down on the asphalt. Almost every convict was beaten, none of them were even allowed to raise their heads. The assailants used their feet, aiming at various parts of the convicts’ bodies, including their heads, which is strictly forbidden. They also put hoods on the frightened convicts’ heads, put duct-tape over their eyes and stuffed rags into their mouths to keep them from screaming; then, still not allowing them to stand up, shoved them into a vehicle and took them to the Kryvyi Rig PI no. 3 (PTDC). There the convicts were thrown out of the vehicle and dragged down a corridor to their cells while being constantly beaten and humiliated.

The convicts were not allowed to bring anything with them, so most of them lacked clothing and shoes, which they had lost while being dragged across the asphalt. The eleven transported convicts sustained injuries of varying severity. Thus, one had a tooth knocked out, another had damaged ribs. Most of them say that they had bruises on their heads, torso and other parts of their bodies. Doctors never examined them over the week of their stay at the PTDC, waiting perhaps for their injuries to heal so that they could not prove anything later.

At the residential area, convicts were forced out of their cells and against the walls. They were fearing for their lives while the unknown masked men were breaking and destroying everything around. The rapid response team left behind a carnage of broken cabinets and destroyed property of the convicts. Some of the latter were also beaten with batons. According to the victims, the assailants were aiming for their legs, torso and heads. The injuries were noticeable even a week later. The details of these events can be found here[27]; the horrific conditions of detention at this PI – here[28].

On April 28, 2019, another incident occurred at the Cherkasy PI no. 62. Two convicts, veterans of war, got drunk and started a fight. As a result, 5 inmates were put in the punishment block, which already had other inmates. On May 3, 2019, a state of emergency was declared at the PI and a rapid response team was brought in, which started beating up the convicts. They were beating everyone, dousing them with water and as well as using tasers on the convicts. 15 convicts were beaten before the assault was stopped by the arrival of human rights activists. Information about the two convicts was entered in the Single Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under Art. 392 CC. On May 27, 2019, unidentified masked men once again entered the punishment block and proceeded to beat the convicts there; about 16 of the convicts later cut their veins, some of them also went on hunger strike.

On May 19, 2019, at the Rivne PTDC, the inmates were banging on the doors and asking to provide immediate medical assistance to one of their cellmates. A rapid response team was brought in instead. The most active truth-sayers were taken to PTDC precincts at penal colonies and criminal charges were brought against them under Art. 391 CC.

On May 27, 2019, news broke out about a riot at the Pivdenna PI no. 51 in Odesa. The media were trying to outdo each other with fake news about hostages, casualties and fugitives, even though no one actually escaped or died. A week later, a rapid response team, masked and combat-ready, was brought in in retaliation, as the riot had long been over, brutally beating up six of the main protesters for defying the administration; for this, the convicts were even brought to the headquarters. Some of the convicts, in fear of being beaten, barricaded themselves inside the residential area and set fire to mattresses in the hope that someone outside the PI’s walls would notice the smoke. The riot was caused by atrocious food as well as the administration’s demands to be paid for allowing convicts to receive parcels from their relatives. In fact, most inmates there mention that everything has a price at this PI. In the evening, the convicts stopped their protest.

On May 22, 2019, a rapid response team entered the Chernihiv PTDC. They searched the cells, causing injuries to several inmates. The injuries were documented and this information was sent to the PG and the police[29].

On January 3, 2020 during the monitoring visits of the representatives of KHPG to Oleksiivska penal colony No. 25 (hereafter – OPC-25) 21 convicts complained about the use of unlawful violence by the colony officers or under to their orders – by the so-called “assistants” of the administration. Some of them provided the information about their torture in such a cruel way (the burning of paper on the victim’s body, immobilization with adhesive tape for several days), that it led to a great public resonance[30].

Many more convicts could not achieve a meeting with human rights activists and awaited their next arrival in the first day after the Christmas holidays (January 8). The convicts named the extortion of money for parole, transfer for less strict detention regime, phone calls to the relatives as well as for the guards to not use violence (!!!) etc as reasons for such actions. The convicts also complained about the lack of medical treatment, that they were forced to work much more than the norm etc. In such conditions some of them attempted suicide.

In the night of January 8, 2020, the masked RRG officers dragged the sleeping convicts from their beds, fixed their arms behind their back and dragged them undressed to the administration building. Some of them were forced to lie on the asphalt in the cold for more than an hour. In the administrative building the convicts were forced to crawl (with their hands tied behind their back) on their stomach upstairs, to the upper floors – the second, third and fourth, those who could not do that were beaten violently. After that the convicts were placed on the three floors of the building, lying on the floor. All convicts had abrasions on their elbows, knees and stomachs. They were held in such condition for several hours, those who tried to change their body position were beaten by special forces. Among the people to whom such measures were applied there were all those who complained to human rights activists on January 3, as well as others who expressed dissatisfaction with the interruption of their night sleep. and all convicts who were beaten were forced to write that they were obstructing the search and that they had no complaints about the measures applied to them. After that some of the convicts who were forced to write the explanations werte transferred to other Kharkiv prisons. However, many beaten persons remained in the medical unit of OPC No. 25.

According to the official version of SPSU those actions were called “a general search”, that was performed with the aim of prevention of the group illegal actions of the convicts (“a riot”).[31] After the RRG fighters entered the OPC-25 it announced the introduction of the “special conditions regime”, thus prohibiting the access of the civilian monitors to the convicts. Because of that the lawyers who represented the convicts who became the victims were not allowed to visit their clients, the assistants of the people’s deputies of Ukraine were not allowed to enter, it was impossible to bring the doctors from “outside” to the colony and even the representatives of the Ombudsman’s office who did not find any signs of a “riot” in the colony, were obstructed[32]. In such a way the administration of the colony made it impossible for other convicts to complain about the actions of the employees.

There were numerous applications concerning the torture, the obstruction of lawful activity of the lawyers, as well as obstruction of activity of the assistants of people’s deputies of Ukraine, sent to the prosecution authorities and SBI, the criminal proceedings were initiated after them. Since the very beginning of the investigation there were signs of its inefficiency, the main one of which was the failure of the authorities to protect the victims who complained about the torture and were left under the full control of the employees who committed the crimes complained of. The victims who complained about the administration were repressed, often with the use of physical measures, as a result a significant part of the victims waived their complaints, including the people who underwent the most cruel torture. Some convicts injured themselves to be transferred from the colony to a hospital. The lawyers’ petitions to apply security measures to such convicts were satisfied only in separate cases, with a significant delay.

The questioning of the victims was performed in the first period of the investigation in the facilities of OPC-25, without their lawyers, in the atmosphere of constant psychological pressure on them by the administration of OPC-25 and senior management. In this case there were also organizational shortcomings in the work of SBI, as due to the location of territorial department of SBI in another region the communication (correspondence) during the investigation is greatly slowed down, including the procedural communication between the victims’ lawyers and investigators. Also noticeable is the lack of special training of the investigators for the investigation of tortures, which is a direct consequence of the lack of special methods of investigation of such crimes. The forensic experts examined the convicts in the institution without conducting any instrumental research (except one case of complaint about the cruellest violence), photographing the injuries with the help of mobile phones.

Concerning the requests of lawyers to the President of Ukraine and other representatives of the state authorities of Ukraine to change the situation with the problem of torture in the work of law-enforcement bodies. Concerning this, the administration of SPSU and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine issued the replies the essence of which is that the use of physical force and special means to the convicts by the officers of special subdivisions was lawful, the violations of the lawyers’ rights were not found etc.

At the same time, during the official investigation of the events in OPC-25 it turned out that not a single surveillance camera was functioning in the institution during the use of RRG, and nothing was recorded by portable video recorders of the subdivision fighters, which is a direct violation of the legislative norms. Currently the investigation of the events in OPC-25 still continues, there is no information about the notification of any of the officials from the penitentiary system.

In no case did penitentiary authorities provide video recordings of the use of special forces as a proof of a lawful manner of actions of their officers.

At the same time, on 13 November 2020 22 convicts from Polytska PC No. 76 also reported the mass torture. In particular, those convicts were brought from another institution – from Tsuman. According to them, during and before the staging to another penal institution they were cruelly beaten. The cause for beating was the mass protest of both the convicts themselves and their relatives against transfer to another penitentiary institution[33]. Currently the investigation of those events is ongoing.

In response to our inquiry, the SCES provided information on criminal investigations into the actions of PI personnel conducted by prosecuting authorities. This information is given in the table below[34]:

In some cases, acts of torture resulted in deaths among the convicts. Thus, on February 21, 2019, an inmate died after being in custody at the Vilnianska PI no. 11 for only three days; on the fifth day his mutilated body was returned to his mother. It should be noted that according to the official version, the inmate died of heart failure.

In all the above cases, the victims had filed complaints with the appropriate prosecuting authorities or SBI concerning criminal acts committed against them. However, in most of these cases, no pre-trial investigation was conducted. Moreover, state authorities do not keep separate statistics on persons prosecuted for these types of crimes.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the Directorate of Penitentiary Inspections was established within its structure in 2017 as a unit for internal inspections of SCES bodies and institutions. As of April 2019, 67 prisons were inspected: in 2017 – 25, in 2018 – 32, in 2019 – 39, in 2020 – 18, and in January-March 2021 – 4. According to the information provided in the follow-up report and the Report, no complaints were received from the inmates and detainees regarding torture or ill-treatment by prison staff during these inspections.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) is also responsible for inspecting PIs[35].

According to the PG’s reply, their representatives carry out monthly checks in places of detention, including PTDCs, arrest houses, correctional centres, penal colonies and juvenile detention centres.

PG’s statistics for 2014-Q1 2019 on inspections of the observance of law in pre-trial detention centres and penitentiary institutions are given in the following table:

PG has noted in its response to the draft commentary of KHPG that in 2016-2019 there were 31 thousand issued documents of reaction to the found violations, on the results of which 21 thousand people were brought to responsibility.[36] However, this information is undifferentiated and it is impossible to identify for which violations those persons were brought to responsibility.

This information also does not correspond to the previous data submitted by the PG. The differences in the data concerning the people brought to responsibility in 2014-first quarter of 2019, submitted by PG in May 2019 and the data submitted in February 2020 is 7131 persons (in the period of 2016-2019). Anyway, it is impossible to extract the informationз from the public statistics of the prosecution bodies concerning the number of complaints about the use of unlawful violence by the law-enforcement officers.

Data on the consideration of complaints against unauthorized measures of influence applied by the PI administration:

Statistics data on criminal investigations into crimes committed by SCES employees involving the use of torture and other types of ill-treatment for the 2015 – first quarter of 2021 are given in the following table:

Thus, even if we assume that not all the violations discovered during the PG’s inspections of PIs were related to torture and other forms of ill-treatment, the above table shows that even according to official data, these incidents are a norm for the Ukrainian penal system.

In general, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and SCES do not admit the use of torture against the convicts or detainees. However, on 6 June 2020, during the interview, the Minister of Justice of Ukraine for the first time stated that the convicts in Oleksiivska PC No. 25 were really tortured, thus recognizing the fact of unlawful violence[37]. At the same time, he stated that in around 2 years the technologies will allow to forget about torture as a result of all premises of penal institutions being equipped with surveillance cameras. However, as is known in practice, at the time of committing criminal acts by representatives of the administration of such institutions, the surveillance cameras are always turned off.

Of vital importance in revealing the flaws in investigations into acts of torture committed by prison staff are CPT visits and the Government’s responses to discovered violations. We consider last CPT visit.

Between 4 and 13 August 2020 the delegation of the Committee of the Council of Europe for the Prevention of Torture and Ill-Treatment (CPT) visited three Ukrainian colonies – Temnivka PC No.100, Oleksiivka PC No.25 and Berdiansk PC No.77. In late November 2020 it published the report on those monitoring visits[38], and on 19 December – its translation in Ukrainian. The aim of the delegation was to check the treatment of the convicts, as well as study the actions of the bodies of investigation concerning the complaints of the convicts about the ill-treatment by the prison personnel. Furthermore, during the visit to Temnivka PC No.100 the representatives of the Committee wanted to see, in which conditions the life prisoners serve their sentences.

In Oleksiivka PC No. 25 the delegation of the CPT received a number of testimonies from prisoners about ill-treatment by staff during 2019: beatings involving punching, kicking and using the rubber truncheons. The alleged violence mainly took place in administrative premises.

Based on the information collected by the delegation The committee outlined a clear scheme of how the newly arrived convicts are treated in the colony. After the arrival and placement the convicts were forced to clean the territory. Those who refused were beaten by the so-called “duty prisoners”: the disobedient ones were stripped and forced to lie on the floor, while several “duty prisoners” were beating them by the plastic pipes on the buttocks and heels. The victims also tell about another form of punishment: the men were forced to squat for a long time with their arms stretched forward, or do hundreds of squats. Furthermore, there are reports according to which on the day of arrival to the colony the convicts were ordered to memorize the rules of internal schedule, and those who failed the “exam” on the next day could be beaten by the “duty prisoners”.

The CPT recommends to the Ukrainian authorities to conduct an urgent and comprehensive investigation on the central level concerning the way in which the colony No.77 functions. The management and personnel of the colony have to understand clearly that any employee of the institution who commits violence or contributes to ill-treatment will be responsible.

The CPT once again expresses serious doubts about the practice of employing selected convicts as “duty prisoners”. The responsibility for the order and security in the prisons is entrusted to the employees of the penitentiary institutions, and any partial waiver of such responsibility is unacceptable. The CPT calls on the Ukrainian authorities to take all necessary measures – including legislative ones – to end this practice.

During the visit the delegation of the CPT consulted the SBI concerning the actions taken during the investigation of the complaints about the ill-treatment of the convicts in the colonies No. 25 and No.77. The Committee regrets that during the wide-scale investigation of certain individual complaints of the prisoners of PC No.77 about the ill-treatment and extortion by the employees and “duty prisoners” the investigator adopted the decision to terminate the criminal proceedings against the colony employees. Therefore, the Committee asks to provide the information on the particular steps taken by the State Bureau of Investigations to establish the possible involvement of colony staff in the above-mentioned crimes – by incitement, permission or tacit consent.

On 18 March 2021 the CPT published on its site the response of the government of Ukraine to the CPT Report on the visit[39], which refuted the facts and findings made by the delegation of the CPT. It is noteworthy that this report was not published in Ukraine. Therefore, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group translated that response in Ukrainian and published that document[40]. At the same time, a Report was prepared on persecution of the convicts from the colonies No. 100 and 77, who agreed to speak to the delegation of the CPT[41]. In addition, the European Network for the Judicial Protection of Convicts, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union addressed several international institutions against tortures with the application in which they provide the assessment of the Ukrainian government’s attitude towards the visit of the delegation of the CPT[42]. That application contains the following, in particular:

«In their response, the Ukrainian authorities claim that the information received by the CPT during the visit was provided by certain negative-oriented prisoners with the purpose to undermine the authority of the administration and challenge the detention regime (§53-55). The Ukrainian authorities claim that the three establishments in question are visited too frequently for the facts denounced by NGOs, human rights defenders and prisoners to be real. As regards more specifically the events highlighted by the CPT, the authorities claim that these allegations are not confirmed by the SBI’s investigations or by internal enquiries. The authorities claim that the pre-trial investigation established that the administration of Colony No. 77 was not involved in any illegal actions or abuse of power (§96, 98). The report implicates the administration’s auxiliary detainees, while denying any responsibility of the administration. Secondly, with regard to Colony No. 25, the authorities maintain that the investigation did not confirm the allegations of torture (§92).

The response also states that some of the convicts were questioned as victims in the criminal proceedings with the help of a polygraph, they did not plead guilty and refused to participate in investigative actions (§84). At the same time, the response to the questions of CPT does not explain that those refusals took place due to the persecution and pressure on the convicts who complained about the administration. In addition, the response of the Government states that RRG were not used in that colony in 2020 (§47), although exactly the use of RRG became the cause for the initiation of criminal proceedings concerning the events in the institution.

However, the investigation of allegations of crimes in connection with torture of convicts in colony No. 25 is still ongoing. It appears that the government’s response is confused, to say the least, and ignores the issues relating to the torture incidents in 2019 highlighted in the report. In addition, the response refers to disciplinary sanctions, but without specifying the reason or nature of the sanction imposed. As regards the events at Temnivska Colony No. 100, the authorities provide no response to the questions posed by the CPT.

In other words, the authorities openly maintain that the CPT has allowed itself to be manipulated in three different places by informal groups of the prison mob, who have used it to undermine the authority of the administration. In so doing, they have completely failed to indicate how, in their view, the forensic evidence gathered by the Committee or the evidence provided to it by the SBI, which supports the allegations of torture, is not valid. »

At the same time, we have to state that the investigation of events in Oleksiivka PC No. 25 is ongoing for more than a year already. During that time nobody was notified of suspicion, although most of the victims named particular perpetrators of tortures. At the same time, at least for the last half a year there were no investigative actions. None of the investigative actions requested by the lawyers (representatives of the convicts who became victims) in their petitions were taken, including the interviews with the victims with the use of polygraph, reconstructions of events and forensic examinations. As for the investigation of events in Berdiansk PC No. 77, such investigation was terminated, although through the efforts of the lawyers it was re-opened. Nevertheless, it remains inefficient.

As for the events in Berdiansk PC No. 77, on 26 April 2021 that institution was once again visited by the people’s deputies of Ukraine and the journalists. During the visit the newly-arrived reported, that after the arrival to the penitentiary institution in the train car (the so-called “stolypin”) during the exit from the train car and transfer to the paddy wagon (the distance was no more than a meter long) all persons going along that corridor were beaten with truncheons by the representatives of the National Guard. it happened on 5 April during the day, between 12pm and 3 pm (the convicts could not state the time with precision). 21 persons out of 24 stated that they were beaten with truncheons Two persons who were returning from medical treatment and one person who was much older than the others (around 60-65 years old) were not beaten. Al others were hit one or several times with truncheons, that procedure was called “registration”. Two persons indicated the physical injuries. Those injuries were documented by the doctor from the medical unit of the institution, after the instruction of the monitoring group[43]. As it became known later, that doctor was fired for documenting the bodily injuries[44].

The statistics on suicides in PIs and PTDCs is as follows: 2014 – 62 cases, 2015 – 49 cases, 2016 – 58 cases, 2017 – 46 cases, 2018 – 43 cases, 2019 – 48 cases, 2020 - 567 cases. In 2018, the largest number of suicides was committed at the Dnipro PI no. 4. In each case, an official inquiry was conducted into the suicides’ circumstances[45], yet none of these inquiries implicated members of prison staff.

Conclusions

1. Conditions of detention in many PIs are inconsistent with international standards and constitute inhuman or degrading treatment, as recognized multiple times by the European Court of Human Rights. A large number of premises in PCs and PTDCs are in need of major repairs. In addition, the situation with prison food remains unsatisfactory, especially in pre-trial detention facilities.

2. The practice of unlawful use of force against convicts by PI personnel and rapid response teams is unacceptable and must be eradicated.

Recommendations:

a) check whether conditions of detention in PIs suspended in accordance with the CMU Resolution “On the Procedure for Optimising the Activities of Pre-Trial Detention Facilities, Penitentiary Institutions and Enterprises of Penitentiary Institutions” comply with international standards, and unsuspend PIs that are up to standard;

b) seek international humanitarian assistance to improve conditions of detention in PIs where said conditions were recognized as inadequate by the European Court of Human Rights;

c) grant representatives of NGOs accredited by the MoJ unimpeded access to PCs and PTDCs at the legislative level, at any time of day and without any additional permission, allowing them to monitor the observance of the rights of convicts and detainees and to communicate with them one-onone or in the presence of the administrations’ representatives;

d) provide for disciplinary liability of PI personnel for gross violations of the rights of prisoners discovered by members of the public;

e) establish in regulations that rapid response teams can only be used on the premises of PIs with the personal authorization of the head of the SCES.

Picture: Shutterstock

Project “Promoting freedom from torture and prisoners’ right to a medical care in Ukraine based on international human rights standards”

EU project “Resisting Torture, Ill-Treatment and Impunity in Ukraine”

[1] https://humanrights.org.ua/material/v_ukrajini_zmenshujetsjia_kilkist_zasudzhenih__minjiust

[2] http://ukrprison.org.ua/articles/1612352140

[3] http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1537528588

[4] https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/396-2017-%D0%BF

[5] https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/general/656562.html

[6] https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-maluska-pro-tiurmy/30211378.html

[7] https://suspilne.media/101586-prodaz-vaznic-ta-reforma-sistemi-pokaran-maluska-rozpoviv-cim-zajmatimetsa-minust/

[8] https://e-tender.ua/news/startuye-proyekt-z-prodazhu-ukrayinskih-vyaznic-na-aukcionah-871

[9] https://kvs.gov.ua/new/note/3674/

[10] https://www.dw.com/uk/ministr-yustytsii-povidomyv-pro-pershyi-prodazh-kolonii-v-ukraini/a-57770222

[11] http://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/files/Dopovidi/spec_dopov_npm_2016_n.pdf

[12] https://minjust.gov.ua/news/ministry/denis-malyuska-platni-kameri-zyavlyatsya-vje-nayblijchim-chasom

[13] https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-maluska-pro-tiurmy/30211378.html

[14] Nevmerzhitsky v. Ukraine, № 54825/00, ECHR 2005‑II

[15] Sukachov v. Ukraine, № 14057/17, ECHR, 2020-I

[16] https://rm.coe.int/16808d2c2a

[17] https://photos.state.gov/libraries/ukraine/895/pdf/2015%20HUMAN%20RIGHTS%20REPORT_Ukr.pdf, https://ua.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/151/2017/04/Final-UKRAINE-2016-HRR_Official_Ukr.pdf, https://ua.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/151/HHR_2017_Ukr.pdf

[18] https://dbr.gov.ua/news/dbr-zatrimalo-dvokh-kerivnikiv-vipravnikh-koloniy-yaki-prodavali-produkti-kharchuvannya

[19] https://ombudsman.gov.ua/files/marina/zvit2_web.pdf

[20] http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1552909974

[21] http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=65843

[22] https://minjust.gov.ua/m/14042021-povidomlennya-pro-provedennya-elektronnih-konsultatsiy-z-gromadskistyu-schodo-proektiv-zakoniv-ukraini-pro-stvorennya-podviynoi-sistemi-regulyarnih-penitentsiarnih-inspektsiy-ta-pro-vnesennya-zmin-do-kodeksu-ukraini-pro-administrativni-pravoporush

[23] Information based on SCES’s reply to the KHPG

[24] Information based on SCES’s reply to the KHPG

[25] Information based on SCES’s reply to the KHPG

[26]  https://ombudsman.gov.ua/files/marina/zvit2_web.pdf

[27] http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1552665703

[28] http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1552909974

[29] http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1559078080

[30] https://2day.kh.ua/zhgut-kostry-na-lyudyakh-v-kharkovskoy-kolonii-no25-primenyali-pytki-k-zaklyuchennym

[31] https://www.facebook.com/adkvsu/posts/512438049379623

[32] https://times.kharkiv.ua/2020/01/11/v-alekseevskoj-kolonii-prepyatstvuyut-proverke-ofisa-ombudsmena/

[33] https://suspilne.media/129735-u-rivnomu-za-borgi-vidklucili-vid-vodi-budivlu-rajradi-ta-rda/

[34] Information based on SCES’s reply to the KHPG

[35] Order of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine No. 161 of 20 April 2016 “On Organizing the Activities of Prosecutors on Supervising the Observance of Law in the Execution of Court Judgements in Criminal Cases, as well as in the Application of Other Compulsory Measures Involving Restrictions to Citizens’ Liberty”, < https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/rada/show/v0161900-16>.

[36] Відповідь Офісу Генерального прокурора від 11.02.2020.

[37] https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-maliuska-pro-katuvannia/30656626.html

[38] https://rm.coe.int/1680a0b93c

[39] https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/ukraine

[40] http://khpg.org/1608808980

[41] http://khpg.org/1608809085

[42] http://khpg.org/1608809086

[43] http://khpg.org/1608809025

[44] http://pk.khpg.org/index.php?id=1559823508

[45] Information based on MoJ’s reply to the KHPG