Held for years without trial in Odesa SIZO

On 3 September, the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office was picketed by relatives of prisoners held in the Odesa SIZO (remand prison). They were protesting against violations of the duration of pre-trial detention for their relatives and accused the prosecutor’s office of breaking the law.

As one of the organisers of the protest, Andriy Sydorenko, explained, they decided to help relatives fight for the rights of prisoners: ‘You are already being threatened, already being told that if you join the picket, your relative will suffer in the SIZO. Do not give in to provocations and fear nothing, learn to stand together,’ Sydorenko urged. After a brief rally, the participants adopted a resolution and appealed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Combating Organised Crime and Corruption, requesting an emergency field session in Odesa.

At the same time, the regional prosecutor’s office claims that since the new Criminal Procedure Code came into force (on 20 November 2012), the number of detainees in the Odesa SIZO has decreased by a third. Deputy Regional Prosecutor Oleh Kornilov met representatives of the protesters and explained that a person cannot be held in a SIZO for longer than one year during the pre-trial investigation stage, but after the trial begins, everything depends on the complexity of the case, court decisions, and other factors. ‘There are no detainees held in the Odesa SIZO in violation of the law,’ Kornilov asserts.

LOST HER BABY IN THE SIZO

Nadiya Nyshchymenko’s daughter, Olha Kukurichka, has been held in the Odesa SIZO for over three years: ‘My daughter was accused of organising the rape of a minor. We maintain that there was no rape and that my daughter is completely innocent. There is no court ruling, and the victim does not even appear at the court hearings. During this time, my daughter lost her baby — she was pregnant when she was detained. She is ill and has serious health problems, but they refuse to help her, claiming she is healthy.’ Another woman, Olha, who asked not to use her surname, has her husband in the SIZO: ‘He was accused of a murder he did not commit. He has been in the SIZO for over two years; the prosecutors cannot prove his guilt, but they will not release him either. He tells me they are putting pressure on him, trying to force a confession, but he is holding out,’ the young woman says, weeping.

THE WAY OUT: INTERNATIONAL COURTS

Lawyer Mykola Lavrov told ‘Vesty’ that the only way to fight against violations of detention time-limits in pre-trial detention is to appeal against the actions of the prosecutor’s office and local courts at the highest level, right up to international judicial bodies: ‘Unfortunately, the new CPC has changed nothing for ordinary people. There is a concept of reasonable limits for detention, which depend on various criteria. In our country, the prosecutor’s office and the courts work hand in glove, and the court simply extends the detention period every time. This is a violation of all laws, but it can only realistically be proven in international courts. Indeed, the vast majority of such lawsuits are won by Ukrainians, including Odesans, who receive compensation from the Ukrainian state. In my own practice, I had a case where a man spent eight years in a SIZO, only to be sentenced to seven. He has now challenged his detention periods in an international court.’