A 'fifth column' in the Kherson colony?

For more than 10 years, since the penitentiary system was removed from the subordination of the police (in April 1999), the doors of Kherson colonies have been opened to both civil society activists and journalists. Moreover, at one of the first press conferences (2001), the head of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences in the Kherson Region (UGDUVIN), Vladimir Pinkas, invited press representatives to visit the institutions more often: 'We have nothing to hide. You want to visit any colony, come—you will be escorted and shown everything you want to see.' And they visited, they travelled, they wrote, and they made broadcasts and films. But then, suddenly, just the other day, we learn that in the Kherson colonies, in reality, there is lawlessness.
This was reported by the internet publication 'Ukraine Criminal'. We quote: 'A commission was created... the senior assistant to the prosecutor of the Kherson Region, Sergei Donev, took part in its work... the first deputy chairman of the State Department, Nikolai Iltyay, and the Chairman of the Board of the 'International League for the Protection of Citizens' Rights of Ukraine', Eduard Bagirov... during the commission’s work, the majority of facts concerning the violation of the rights of convicts by operative workers of Colony No. 90 were confirmed and uncovered. In particular, a room for torture and abuse was discovered on the premises of the colony’s headquarters; the facts of systematic beating of convicts by operative unit workers were confirmed...' At the same time, the following information appeared on the website of the State Department of Ukraine: 'On 23 November 2009, an appeal was received by the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences (hereinafter—State Department) from the Chairman of the Board of the International Public Organisation 'International League for the Protection of Citizens' Rights of Ukraine' regarding the presence of serious violations in the activities of the personnel of the Northern Correctional Colony of the State Department’s administration in the Kherson Region (No. 90).
A group of central apparatus employees of the State Department, led by the First Deputy Chairman, Major General of the internal service M. P. Iltyay, travelled to the site to conduct an official inspection, during which this information was confirmed. Following the completion of the inspection and based on its results, responsive measures will be taken.'

Immediately after this, rumours began to spread that this was a 'hit job', and its purpose was to remove our Kherson head of the UGUVIN, and that a new candidate for his position was already known. These rumours did not appear out of thin air: on the eve of this commission’s arrival, Kherson institutions were inspected as never before—by both the prosecutor’s office and the Kyiv leadership. But only the arrival of the latter visitors together with Eduard Bagirov became a sensation.
As Nikolai Bondar (the former head of IK No. 90; at the time the 'inspectors' arrived, the order for his resignation in connection with retirement had already been signed, but he was still working) recounted, the inspectors met with those convicts who had accused the staff of beatings, asked them to undress, and personally inspected them in search of bruises and other traces of abuse. And—they saw nothing. And those rooms equipped for torture were rooms for searching new convicts arriving at the colony. The 'instruments of torture' are special equipment: handcuffs, rubber batons, and tear gas canisters, which are present in every colony in case of emergency. If any convict begins to behave inappropriately and illegally, they are isolated precisely in this room until a decision is made about their transfer, for example, to a high-security section, or another punishment. Special equipment is used to pacify someone if they are 'acting violently'. Any such use, even if it is just putting on handcuffs, is mandatory documented and investigated. There has not been a single complaint in recent years that a person was simply 'belted' with a baton in this colony for no reason.

I, as a journalist for the newspaper *Vhoru* and as the chairperson of the public council under the UGDUVIN in the Kherson Region, tried to contact all the inspectors who visited the colony that day to find out what, in fact, they had found there. Could it be that all previous visitors to the colony over the decade noticed nothing because they did not know where to look, or were they simply not shown what could not be seen? Is what is written in that article true, or is it a 'fake' with an unclear purpose?
Sergei Donev said via mobile phone that the inspection was still ongoing, and it was under the control of both the regional leadership and the leadership of the Prosecutor General’s Office. It is still too early to talk about the conclusions. Nevertheless, he confirmed what Nikolai Bondar said. Those convicts who 'called' the commission were not the victims themselves, but named other surnames. They met with those other convicts; special equipment was indeed applied to them, but everything was documented as required. Now the question is more about to what extent the application of that very special equipment was justified and whether the 'operatives went too far'.
Nikolai Iltyay refused to comment on the situation by phone, arguing that, firstly, he did not know who was speaking to him on the phone, as they had introduced themselves with my name and he was not going to re-verify it; secondly, he did not know how I would use this information; and thirdly, that what was posted on the Department’s website was more than enough, especially since this was their—that is, the system’s—'internal matter'.
And Eduard Bagirov turned out to be very busy. His assistant, Makar Barilo, said that he would not be able to get to the phone until Friday (I tried to contact him on Tuesday). And he himself was not aware of the Kherson events, and he did not have any documents on this matter.

P.S.

An expanded meeting of the public council under the UGDUVIN, the city monitoring commission, and representatives of the prosecutor’s office was planned for last Monday, 14 December, on the basis of IK No. 90. But it had to be postponed indefinitely due to the fact that an emergency incident had occurred in the colony: for the first time in at least the last five years, a fight between convicts using cold weapons. One of the convicts was delivered to intensive care with five stab wounds. His life is currently out of danger. But in connection with the incident, a so-called 'cleanup' was conducted in the colony on Monday: a full search of the living quarters.
The two convicts who appealed to the 'International League for the Protection of Citizens' Rights of Ukraine' have nothing to do with this situation. One of them, by the way, has already been transferred to another colony, the second is awaiting transfer, but it is said that he does not want to leave. Our Kherson colonies are 'red', meaning those where the situation has always been controlled by the administration. And 'there' he will have to 'answer for his words'.