ANOTHER PRISONER HAS HANGED HIMSELF IN THE STRYZHAVKA COLONY. THIS IS THE SECOND CASE IN A WEEK

– Two suicides are not just an “incident,” but two tragedies, – comments Serhiy Kalinchuk, Deputy Head of the Department for the Execution of Sentences, to our correspondent. – An official investigation into the facts of the suicides is underway.
For the first case, there is a conclusion which states: “mechanical asphyxia, strangulation,” meaning that Serhiy Maksymov hanged himself. And the examination did not record any beatings, which human rights activist Dmytro Groisman constantly talks about. Maksymov was registered with a psychiatrist as being prone to suicide. He repeatedly declared this publicly. Our psychologists worked with him, just as with everyone prone to suicide. His sister from Zhmerynka had the opportunity to inspect her brother's body. She refused to collect the deceased, and we buried him ourselves. 23-year-old Maksymov was oligophrenic, as they say— “feeble-minded.” He made impulsive decisions and was sometimes very aggressive.
Regarding the other suicide—Yevhen Komarnitsky—I can say the following. Initially, he was registered with us as being prone to suicide. Then, at his request, the requests of other convicts, and the church, he was removed from that register. Of his 43 years, he had already served 25, and his total sentence was 28 years of deprivation of liberty under various articles; he had five “trips.” He received his last sentence for intentional murder. For the last year and a half, he had become strongly “devoted to faith,” having joined the Protestant Seventh-day Adventist Church. A native of Lviv, he believed deeply in God, and as those prisoners who knew him claim, Yevhen, under the influence of faith, began to rethink his life. Perhaps he was suffering greatly. This could have been the cause of his action. He read a lot, and pastors from his church often visited him. The book they found on his nightstand was titled “Is There Life After Death.” He took his own life on the religious holiday of the Ascension. Perhaps he dreamed of going to heaven on such a day.
– So, after all, why do prisoners kill themselves in your care?
– Prison is the face of society, and I see two reasons here: the state and the problem of each individual person. People on the outside also take their own lives from time to time. Of course, we must prevent this, but the human psyche is a universe that no one will fully understand. Everything is too complicated, and no one can predict what another person will do at any given moment. When the results of the official investigation are available, perhaps it will be possible to add something more and learn the true causes of the suicide.
– People say there is no smoke without fire. You already had a case of suicide last year. These are two in a row again… What is happening in the colony, why are people leaving life? Why do human rights activists constantly talk about beatings of prisoners and their slave labor for 15-20 hours a day? And for that—a salary of 7-8 UAH per month?
– Even in the most developed countries of the world and their much more sophisticated penitentiary institutions (places of deprivation of liberty), there are facts of suicide. Of course, we are no exception. I am not an expert in economics, but the earnings of prisoners are much higher than what human rights activist Dmytro Groisman writes about. By the way, his human rights group was recently excluded from the Helsinki Human Rights Union. In prisons, the daily work schedule is followed. We are monitored by the prosecutor's office, all existing authorities, and public organizations, including non-profits. There is a public council under our department, headed by Professor and Candidate of Legal Sciences Andriy Pavlovych Hel. Perhaps someone used the labor of prisoners for their own purposes in the past; that does not happen now. If prisoners make any products, such as a gazebo, for example, it is only at the request of the colony, for which it receives funds.
– Serhiy Mykolayovych, are you aware of any “authorities” who rule the region's zones from the outside or from within?
– For me, all convicts are the same. There are no “authorities” in our prisons…
– Just as there was no sex in the former USSR…
– I am giving you an official interview. There are no “watchers” (smotryashchiye) in our eight prisons in the region. Perhaps that is the reason why our institutions are being “shaken up”—criminals want there to be “lawlessness” (bezpredel). They do not like to live “by the regime,” they want to live “by the concepts.”
There are eight penitentiary institutions in the region with maximum, medium, and minimum security regimes, which hold more than six thousand prisoners. Every year, 67% of convicts are released on parole (UDZ). Colony 81 is among the best.
Human rights activist Dmytro Groisman has a different opinion.
– Why do you only deal with prisoner suicides?
– On the outside, a person has the right to do what they want; they have a choice. It is quite different in prison, where the state is responsible for their life and health. And it must foresee the suicide of a specific prisoner, treat them, or release them. We are receiving very alarming signals from Colony 81 about slave labor by prisoners and a very unstable situation. This, I believe, could be the cause of the suicides.
– Why were you excluded from the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union?
– The Vinnytsia Human Rights Group was a member of the union until May of this year, but, by the decision of the majority of the union’s members, we were excluded. Why? You need to ask them about that. We do not make a tragedy out of this. Our views on human rights today do not coincide with the views of the majority of the Union members. We are conservatives in human rights. There cannot be constructive cooperation with an authority that tortures people.
– Dmytro, regarding your beating—they say you work for the “obshchak” (criminal common fund) and you were beaten by criminal elements because you defended them poorly…
– I heard this from the MP Ms. Lukyanova. This is the version of people who see the activities of human rights organizations in Ukraine in that way. There is nothing to comment on here. Without revealing the secrets of the investigation, I will report: when I was asked whom I suspect of committing the attack on me, I stated that I could suspect people connected with the administration for the execution of sentences in the Vinnytsia region. At the present time, I have no complaints against the investigative bodies, other than the qualification of the crime. I am convinced that what was committed against me was not hooliganism.
Four prisoner suicides in Ukraine in the last week, the beating of convicts in Stryzhavka and in Kharkiv Colony No. 100 these days—these are links in the same chain. We have a criminal system that operates to abuse prisoners and humiliate their human dignity, utilize their slave labor, and does not contribute to their rehabilitation. This system contributes to the expansion of crime in Ukraine.
As a former official of the correctional system, a man with nearly 20 years of experience working in penitentiary institutions, told the editorial office: “The version regarding suicide on religious grounds is an attempt to divert attention from the real causes of prison suicides. Only two reasons force prisoners to voluntarily leave life. The first is family troubles. But these are a maximum of 3%. The second reason, and this is 97%: this is how they escape from the created unbearable conditions of existence in the zone, when they are beaten, humiliated, and tortured there. Unfortunately, a person behind bars is absolutely defenseless…”
Serhiy DRAPALYUK