VILLAGERS DO NOT NEED A PRISON

Regional officials have been working for more than a year on the creation of a prison complex in Dervizh, in the Mykolaiv region, to which correctional colonies from Lviv are to be transferred. However, not all village residents agree with their decision.

According to Vasyl Ilnytskyi, head of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Lviv region, the project for the construction of the prison complex is currently being discussed by the Lviv Regional State Administration and is also being coordinated with local authorities and the village residents.

As for an investor for the construction, they are still searching. Thus, who would want to invest money in the building of a prison complex remains unknown. However, the biggest problem lies in the location of this institution. Representatives of the district authorities state that before signing any agreements, they want to know what the district and the village will gain from the creation of the new facility. The regional authorities, for their part, cannot currently answer what they will offer in return.
And despite the regional leaders' confidence that the prison complex will indeed be built in the village of Dervizh, some villagers are categorically against it. “General Ilnytskyi came to us and told us about the plans of the regional officials. Later, I convened a village assembly, at which I informed the villagers about this,” says village head Lesya Huzar. “The situation has become twofold: while some have not yet formed an opinion on the project, others are categorically opposed to such an idea.”

Ms. Huzar herself is concerned about the authorities’ plans. “Not far from our village, there is already a colony for 350 people. And after its expansion and the relocation of two more colonies from Lviv, the number of prisoners will increase by three thousand,” she asserts. “I am worried about the safety of the village.”