Monitoring visit to the SI ‘Toretsk CC No. 2’

I. General information

On 7 October 2020, a monitoring visit took place to the State Institution ‘Toretsk Correctional Colony No. 2’. The monitoring group included assistant to the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Maksym Revyakin and two journalists – Tamara Horbachevska and Pavlo Shvab. The colony is located on the outskirts between spoil tips in the city of Toretsk, Donetsk region, where the line of contact between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and illegal armed groups passes. As noted in previous reports, with the start of hostilities and due to its location near combat positions, the colony has been shelled repeatedly.

Toretsk Correctional Colony No. 2 is a medium-security correctional institution for men sentenced for the first time. The colony began its work in 1958. At the time of the visit, 467 persons were serving their sentences in the colony; the planned capacity is 1350 persons. At the entrance to the colony, temperature screening was conducted for the monitors, and they were also offered masks and gloves.

II. Living quarters

The colony has ten barracks-type residential units, which are located in three-storey brick buildings with a separate security yard. First, the monitors visited the last refurbished residential unit. The dining room is bright and tidy, without extraneous odours, and there are lockers for storing personal food, a refrigerator, and an electric kettle. The sleeping zone is designed for 15 persons; some beds stand separately, while others are flush against one another, which violates social distancing and privacy. The room is large and spacious, and sunlight enters in sufficient quantity. On some walls, photo wallpapers with views of New York and Warsaw are pasted. The toilets were renovated the year before last. Between the toilets, there are partitions and doors, but the partitions are sufficiently low, which violates privacy. Persons serving sentences complained to the monitors that the repairs performed are of poor quality and the new replaced sewage pipes are leaking, which creates an unpleasant odour and mould on the walls and ceiling. According to colony representatives, the sewage pipe leak occurs because the new plastic pipes are connected to old iron ones, and also because the persons serving sentences damage them.

Regarding other residential units, living conditions there are worse. In the toilets, the tiles on the walls and floor are broken, but colony representatives claim that repairs were started in this room, but due to the lack of stable funding, they cannot finish them. In some other units, the toilets have an old hand-washing system and a shower installed. Cosmetic repairs were partially performed in the room, namely the walls and ceiling were painted. But the room looks cluttered. The toilets are built into the floor and tiled, there are quite high partitions between them and doors, but the flushing system is absent. The kitchen is old and in need of repair; there is a small table, a refrigerator, and lockers for storing personal food. The sleeping zone is large and spacious, but all this space is occupied by old iron beds, sometimes even bunk beds, located flush against each other. In the room, a specific odour is felt, and it is stuffy. In some places, there is mould on the walls. In the residential units, there is a tank with boiled drinking water.

III. Medical unit

The colony's medical unit is in good condition and is located in a separate one-storey building. On the ground floor, there is a day hospital where patients are received, and on the first floor are the long-term inpatient wards. The monitors managed to speak with the head, who reported that 11 out of 13 doctor positions in the institution are filled, and the junior medical staff is fully staffed. According to the head of the medical unit, the institution is sufficiently provided with medicines, there is also a new X-ray machine (479 shots were taken in 2020), and quartz disinfection lamps are installed in all offices. There is a dental office; the dentist works until 15:00. The wards of the medical unit are in good condition: the walls and floor are painted, and the windows are uPVC. Everything is clean and tidy. Patients indicated that medical assistance is provided to them in sufficient volume. 10 persons are in the medical unit's inpatient ward. 40 inmates are suffering from hepatitis in the institution, 15 of them from hepatitis C. The medical unit has a device for general blood analysis, on which more than 1000 analyses were conducted during 2020. All HIV patients receive therapy.

IV. Canteen

Next, the monitors visited the canteen and kitchen. The canteen hall is large and spacious, tables stand in rows, and there is salt on the tables. Also, in the hall, there is an information board about the standard of food distribution and the menu for the current day. Before entering the canteen, there is a hand-washing system, however, water is almost not supplied there; water appears in the taps only at specified hours. There is soap, and it is clear to the naked eye that it is used. As for the kitchen, it is clean and tidy inside – it was filled with a pleasant and tasty smell of prepared food. Persons working in the kitchen have sanitary certificates.

V. Production

According to the production head, there is almost none in the colony. The main production is metalworking, namely the production of fastening parts and arches for the passage and support of rock in mines. But at the present time, out of the eight mines that worked in the city and were the main customers, only three remain. Therefore, there are few orders, and only one workshop is working – the others are mothballed. At the time of the visit, 5 persons out of the 22 provided for were working in production. Everyone has labour contracts. The total number of positions is 36.

VI. DIZO/PKT/SI section

The disciplinary isolation building is located separately in a one-storey building. In addition, there is a remand prison unit. At the time of the visit, 1 person was in the disciplinary isolation cell. All cells are recently renovated, so they have a fresh and clean appearance. Sufficient daylight enters the cell, but opening the window for ventilation is quite inconvenient, because you need to climb onto the radiator or stand on the bed to reach the cord that opens the window. And to close it, you will have to think of another mechanism of actions. The cell has a washbasin and a toilet, which is partitioned and has a door. Regarding drinking water, it is provided at the request of the person serving the disciplinary sanction.

EU project ‘Resisting torture, ill-treatment and impunity in Ukraine’