First handbook for prisoners in Volyn presented

Its publication was made possible thanks to the project by the Volyn Association for the Protection of Youth Rights, “Improving access to legal knowledge for persons in places of detention”, supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.
To date, this is the only handbook in the region that contains all the necessary legal information for prisoners: rules of conduct in places of detention, procedures for employment and dismissal from work, marriage or divorce, provision of social services, property relations, with an emphasis on the legal consequences of a criminal record, etc… However, the main advantage of the publication is that it was created based on a survey of the wards of the Kovel Juvenile Colony regarding the problems that worry them most upon release. As project manager Petro Verzun noted, the most difficult issue for prisoners remains the question of housing after release. “When we do everything to ensure that a person has no social ties with the outside world, we are taking a serious risk,” he stressed.
Back in 2007, the Volyn Association for the Protection of Youth Rights signed a cooperation agreement with the Department of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Volyn region. The next joint step will be an appeal to the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences regarding the introduction of a staff position – a civil law lawyer.
The handbook has already been distributed in correctional colonies of the Volyn region, and an electronic version will be posted on the website of the Volyn Association for the Protection of Youth Rights.