Events in Colony No. 60. Versions of events.

One source confirmed that a mass clash between convicts did indeed take place in the Slavyanoserbsk Colony No. 60.

A second source stated that the conflict occurred through the fault, or rather, at the initiative, of the colony head, Major Sh., who was transferred two months ago from Colony No. 15.
Prior to this moment, the position of colony head was held by T. As the source related, during these two months as head of the colony, Sh. ‘has ruined production and is creating a negative atmosphere among the convicts’.
As the source said (it is not currently possible to verify the information), so-called ‘positively inclined’ convicts (activists), by order of the colony head, systematically forced the remaining convicts to work on the colony’s production lines and fulfill output quotas, while using physical force. This form of relations between convicts was encouraged by the colony head (again, according to the source); alcohol was brought in for the activists, which fueled their zeal in performing their lackey functions. The activists in the chief mechanic’s department manufactured weapons (metal rods, sabres) and, using the weapons and fueled by alcohol, according to reports, ‘were cutting and killing convicts in the industrial zone of the institution’. Convicts B.D., P.T., and D.R. are in serious condition (it is unknown whether they are alive or not; they were taken away by an ambulance). What is set out above requires verification and an alternative point of view.
Andriy Didenko, Programme Coordinator of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group