Novhorod-Siverskyi Correctional Facility (No. 31)

Novhorod-Siverskyi Correctional Facility (No. 31) is an institution of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine that simultaneously performs the functions of a correctional facility and a pre-trial detention centre.

The facility is located in the town of Novhorod-Siverskyi in the Chernihiv region and provides for the detention of both persons taken into custody and certain categories of convicted persons, in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian criminal-executive legislation. The history of the institution dates back to 1881, when a stone prison was built in Novhorod-Siverskyi.

Throughout its history, it has been used for the detention of various categories of prisoners and convicts and has witnessed many tragic events related to political repressions and wars. During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine between 1941 and 1943, the occupation authorities held civilians, prisoners of war, and members of the anti-Nazi underground on the institution’s premises. Many of them were subjected to torture and executed. These events remain an important part of the historical memory of the institution and the region.

Following the Second World War, the institution changed its functional purpose several times. Over the years, it has operated as a prison, a medical-labour dispensary, a correctional-labour colony, and a pre-trial detention centre. After the reform of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine, it attained its current status as a correctional facility that simultaneously functions as a pre-trial detention centre. The operational specifics of the institution are determined by the Criminal-Executive Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Pre-trial Detention”, and other normative legal acts issued by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

Novhorod-Siverskyi Correctional Facility (No. 31) is regularly monitored by the National Preventive Mechanism, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and both international and Ukrainian human rights organisations. During monitoring visits, the conditions of detention for those in custody and convicted persons are assessed, along with the provision of the right to medical care, access to legal aid, material and living conditions, disciplinary practices, the exercise of the right to work and education, and other aspects of human rights compliance. Based on these visits, the institution receives recommendations regarding the improvement of detention conditions, medical provision, the ensuring of proper treatment of convicts and prisoners, the enhancement of material and living conditions, and the alignment of the institution’s activities with the requirements of national legislation, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and other international standards in the field of human rights protection.

Contact information: State Institution “Novhorod-Siverskyi Correctional Facility (No. 31)”. Address: 16000, Chernihiv region, Novhorod-Siverskyi, Mykolaivska St., 31

Head: Vorushylo Valerii Vasylovych

Telephone: (04658) 2-11-04

Email: [email protected]