What are the secrets of the Voroshilovsky Court in Donetsk?

The issue of the conditions for detaining persons who are in custody and brought to court buildings for the duration of legal proceedings is poorly researched. They do not spend long in courts – only a few hours – and therefore, human rights organisations often pay no attention to the conditions of their detention. At the same time, this is a fairly serious complex of problems. It suffices to say that these individuals often spend almost the entire day in court, yet have no opportunity to eat. They often experience difficulties with access to toilets and water. Not infrequently, the rooms where they wait to be escorted to the courtroom are cramped and filled with thick cigarette smoke. Furthermore, some courts send requests for the delivery of more people to the court than the room can accommodate, justifying their insistence with “compliance with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights,” which establishes requirements for the reasonable duration of legal proceedings.

To learn more about the situation, I, as the head of the human rights organisation ‘Donetsk Memorial’, sent an information request to a number of courts in the Donetsk region. The information received from many courts is currently being analysed. However, some courts are refusing to provide information. A vivid example is the Voroshilovsky District Court of the city of Donetsk. Characteristic points of the correspondence with the court are reflected in the information request, which is being resent to this court. The text of the request is provided below. I hope to learn about the results of this correspondence within a month or a month and a half.

Alexander Bukalov
‘Donetsk Memorial’
To the Acting Chairman of the Voroshilovsky
District Court of Donetsk, V.V. Konovalov
4 Lyubavin St., Donetsk, 83015
From Alexander Pavlovich Bukalov

Copy: To the Head of the Territorial Administration of the State Judicial Administration of the Donetsk Region

INFORMATION REQUEST (REPEATED)

As a citizen of Ukraine, I addressed an information request to you on 10 February of this year regarding the conditions for detaining persons in custody in the court building during legal proceedings, including information on the size of the room for these individuals, their access to water and toilets, the duration of their stay in court, etc. I received a response in which you emphasise that the court “cannot provide you with the requested information, as the court does not possess such data.”

Furthermore, you indicate that I should address the Territorial Administration of the Judicial Administration in the Donetsk region.

I draw your attention to the fact that the arrangement of premises for the detention of persons in custody in court during legal proceedings, according to regulatory documents, is the prerogative of the court. According to clauses 5 and 6 of the “Instruction on the Procedure for Escorting and Detaining Defendants and Convicted Persons in Courts at the Request of Judicial Bodies”:

Moreover, if the court does not possess such information, it is not difficult to obtain it by measuring the dimensions of the available premises.

Given that I have received similar requested information from more than a dozen other courts in the region, it is difficult to imagine that the Voroshilovsky Court of Donetsk is an exception and does not possess such information.

In any case, administering justice when the chairman of the court or the person performing their duties has no data on the size of the room for detaining persons in custody, has no idea about the duration of their stay in the court building, and has no data on their access to water and toilets—which are important elements of humane treatment of persons in custody and to which the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture pays primary attention during inspection visits to any country—is very unsafe for society.

Your refusal to provide information is not based on the law, especially since the object of my request is not confidential or secret information, but information directly related to the issue of human rights compliance. Concealing such information or creating artificial barriers not provided for by law to obtain it is a serious violation.

I also draw your attention to the fact that your actions (the actual refusal to provide the requested information) have the signs of actions provided for by clause ‘g’ of Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Combating Corruption”: “a civil servant or other person authorised to perform the functions of the state has no right to... refuse information to individuals and legal entities, the provision of which is provided for by legal acts, intentionally delay it, or provide false or incomplete information.”

Furthermore, the conditions for detaining persons in custody in court premises are a concern of the court itself, and these conditions have a direct bearing on human rights issues, which is what I work on. Providing this exact information falls directly within the competence of the court. Therefore, your assertion about the court’s lack of the requested information cannot be considered truthful.

In connection with the above, and in accordance with Article 40 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Articles 29, 32, and 33 of the Law of Ukraine “On Information,” I reiterate my request to be informed of the information requested in my letter of 10 February of this year regarding the conditions for detaining persons in custody in court.

Please send the requested information within the time limit established by law to the following address:

P.O. Box 4836, Donetsk, 83092
Alexander Bukalov
24 March 2008