Karpachova: Prisoners in pre-trial detention centres complain about the lengthy processing of criminal cases by the courts

In submissions by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Nina Karpachova, to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Viktor Pshonka, and the Chairman of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, Yaroslav Romanyuk, regarding the violation of human rights to liberty and personal integrity—and the right to have a case heard within a reasonable time—by local and appellate courts in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region, it is noted, for example, that during personal receptions conducted by the Ombudsman at the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, over 300 prisoners were seen, a great number of whom complained about unjustifiably prolonged detention and delays in the processing of criminal cases. Furthermore, the majority of complaints concerned the actions of judges at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, the Ombudsman’s press service informed ForUm. Monitoring by the Ombudsman established that at the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, some defendants de facto serve their entire sentence or the greater part of it while awaiting a court verdict. Thus, 6 defendants have been held in the centre since 2002, 15 since 2004–2006, 34 since 2007, and 80 since 2008. There are 248 prisoners who have been held in the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre for over 18 months. Of these, 229, or 92 per cent, had their cases pending in court. An absolute majority of these cases were being heard by local and appellate courts in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Even longer periods in the pre-trial detention centre have been endured by 60-year-old Lyudmila K. (over 3 years), as well as Yevhen K. and Oleksandr H. (almost 4 years). In the latter case, three judges have been changed during this time, and in 2009, his accomplice died in the pre-trial detention centre without ever seeing a court verdict. Zurab K. and Vasyl N. have spent 5 years in the pre-trial detention centre. It is concerning that, for 60 defendants, or one in every four held for over 18 months, their cases were pending in that same Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv. In the opinion of Nina Karpachova, the situation that has arisen at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court should become a subject of special attention and action by the Council of Judges and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. Every year, the Commissioner for Human Rights receives nearly 2,500 appeals regarding the long duration of criminal case processing in courts. This accounts for one in every ten appeals received. The gravity of this issue is also confirmed by rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, which state that Ukraine has violated the right to liberty and personal integrity and the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. For instance, as of 1 February 2011, the European Court of Human Rights had issued 728 rulings against Ukraine, in 48 of which it found a violation of Article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms regarding the right to liberty and personal integrity, and in 190, or one in every four, a violation of Article 6 of that Convention regarding excessive duration of court proceedings. Examples include the cases of ‘Buryaga v. Ukraine’ of 15 July 2010, and ‘Prokopenko v. Ukraine’ and ‘Boldyrev v. Ukraine’ of 20 January 2011. In her submissions to the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the Council of Judges, Karpachova emphasises that due to the violation of the Convention’s provisions by state bodies and officials, the state is forced to pay significant sums from the State Budget to implement the rulings of the European Court. Thus, under rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, the state has already paid 71 million hryvnias in compensation for damages caused to citizens of Ukraine. The Commissioner for Human Rights believes that a court’s failure to adhere to reasonable timeframes for case processing leads to unjustifiably long detention, which causes moral and physical suffering to the individual and their family, a disregard for the constitutional right to liberty, personal integrity, honour, and dignity, and leads to the overcrowding of pre-trial detention centres. At present, the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, which has 2,850 equipped beds, is holding 3,800 prisoners. Due to this overcrowding, almost 1,000 prisoners, including foreign nationals, are forced to sleep in shifts. Consequently, Karpachova insists on taking measures aimed at accelerating the processing of the cases mentioned in the submissions, and highlights the need to draw the attention of the chairmen of local and appellate courts in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region to the strict compliance with national and international legislation regarding the timely processing of criminal cases. Furthermore, the Ombudsman of Ukraine believes that, based on the results of the inspection, the question of the liability of those judges whose fault led to the delays in case processing should be initiated. At the same time, the Commissioner for Human Rights has informed the Chairman of the High Council of Justice, Volodymyr Kolesnychenko, and the Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Ihor Samsin, about the state of compliance with the rights of prisoners in the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, proposing that appropriate response measures be taken.