Flash report on an emergency situation at the temporary detention facility of the UMVD of Ukraine in Sevastopol
09 May 2008
FLASH REPORT
on an emergency situation at the temporary detention facility (ITT) of the UMVD of Ukraine in Sevastopol
DESPITE THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS RULING IN THE YAKOVENKO V. UKRAINE CASE, BRUTAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE IN THE SEVASTOPOL TEMPORARY DETENTION FACILITY
The Vinnytsia Human Rights Group has received extremely alarming information regarding the situation that has recently developed in the temporary detention facility (ITT) of the UMVD of Ukraine in Sevastopol. According to information we have received from reliable sources, up to six people suffering from active pulmonary tuberculosis are being held in the ITT; the sick are not receiving medical assistance to the extent appropriate for the severity of the disease, and there is a lack of appropriate fortified nutrition. Contrary to the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Pre-trial Detention”, some detainees have been held in the ITT for several years (in particular, citizen Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Yermiyev, born in 1971).
The Vinnytsia Human Rights Group has also received information that complaints from detainees addressed to the prosecutor are not being registered, which has become the cause of acts of disobedience by detainees. We are also concerned by reports that SIX UNDERAGE detainees, protesting against the moral and psychological pressure exerted on them in the detention centre, cut their wrists. Following this, in order to avoid publicity regarding this extraordinary event, the ITT administration transferred the detainees to other special facilities, but three of the individuals were brutally beaten by police officers—beaten so severely that the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre refused to accept the detainees, and the convoy was forced to return them to the ITT. Given the high risk of recurring violence against the underage detainees, we have decided to publish their names:
1. Balachuk Maksym Viktorovych, born 1990
2. Korpenko Ivan Vasyliovych, born 1990
3. Lobov Dmytro Pavlovych, born 1992
We draw attention to the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has already issued a ruling in the case of “Yakovenko v. Ukraine” regarding the violation of a person’s right to be free from torture and degrading treatment in the Sevastopol ITT (Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). However, the state has ignored the court’s ruling and continues to abuse the detainees.
We call upon:
1. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine to immediately send a commission to Sevastopol to study the current situation and investigate the reports regarding the facts of violations of detainees’ rights.
2. The Department for Monitoring Human Rights Observance in the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Assistant to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Sevastopol, Olha Vasylivna Vilkova (8-068-4783243), to immediately conduct an inspection of the reports regarding the conditions of detention for individuals in the Sevastopol ITT. Suspend the Head of the Sevastopol ITT, Mr. Kolomiyets, from his official duties for the duration of the internal investigation. Immediately grant representatives of the media access to the Sevastopol ITT, present the detainees Balachuk, Korpenko, and Lobov, and allow an opportunity to speak with the tuberculosis patients held in the ITT.
3. We have sent a request directly to the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture with a request to immediately carry out a visit to the Sevastopol temporary detention facility.
4. We ask representatives of the media in Sevastopol and all of Ukraine to pay attention to the information regarding the violation of detainees’ rights in the Sevastopol ITT. Demand truthful information, demand a meeting with the detainees, ask for comments from human rights organisations, and insist on access to the inside of the ITT!