Monitoring visit to the State Institution ‘Raikivska Correctional Colony (No. 73)’
On 16 September 2021, a monitoring group consisting of members of the Public Council under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Hanna Skrypka and Serhiy Zuikov, as well as Andriy Didenko, a journalist for the ‘Human Rights’ bulletin of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, and Oleh Tsvilyi, a journalist for the all-Ukrainian national socio-political, information, and legal publication ‘Legal Ukraine’, visited the State Institution ‘Raikivska Correctional Colony (No. 73)’.
General Information
The planned capacity of the colony is 908 persons. At the time of the visit, there were 601 convicted persons in the colony.
The head of the institution is Colonel of the Internal Service Viktor Petrovych Muts.
The number of appeals (complaints) from convicted persons has decreased compared to the previous year; according to data provided to the monitors by the colony, there were 3,182 appeals in 2020, and 874 appeals in the first nine months of 2021.
The total number of convicted persons released in 2021/2020 was 125, of whom 51 were released on parole (in 2020, there were 225, of whom 99 were released on parole). The number of criminal proceedings under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is 2.
One criminal proceeding has been opened under Article 391 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
There are 20 convicted persons in the institution prone to self-harm, and 114 malicious violators of the detention regime.
The total number of employed persons is 62. The average monthly wage for a convicted person in 2021 is 1,310 hryvnias.
The maintenance cost per prisoner per day is 59 hryvnias and 8 kopecks.
During the visit, the monitors inspected the medical unit, the disciplinary isolation ward and special ward (DIZO-PKT), living quarters, and long-term visit rooms, spoke with convicted persons and administration representatives, and provided comments and recommendations. The group was accompanied by the First Deputy Head of the colony, Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kotliarskyi.
Medical Unit
The monitors inspected the equipment and the wards where the convicted persons receiving treatment were held. At the time of the visit, there were 2 patients receiving inpatient treatment; no complaints or remarks were recorded, and the convicted persons themselves assessed the medical care provided as appropriate.
The head of the medical unit, Vyacheslav Mykolayovych Sirosh, reported that there are 57 persons registered with HIV/AIDS in the colony; 5 convicted persons are receiving substitution therapy; an ambulance was called 12 times in 2021 (10 times in 2020).
Over the last three years, there have been 8 deaths of convicted persons in the institution.
Deaths in the institution’s medical unit / Ministry of Health facilities:
In 2019 – 3/1
In 2020 – 3/2
In 2021 – 2/2
The register of physical injuries recorded 10 persons in 2021 (compared to 11 in 2020). However, the outpatient medical records (form 025/o) lack medical certificates regarding physical injuries, as well as the accompanying photographs of existing injuries, as required by Paragraph 3, Section 1, Chapter II of the joint Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 15.08.2014 No. 1348/5/572 “On Approval of the Procedure for Organizing Medical Care for Persons Sentenced to Imprisonment”. There is no provision for the photographic equipment necessary to record and document physical injuries. Furthermore, the medical unit is not equipped with a direct telephone line.
Living Quarters
During the visit, the living quarters were inspected. The convicted persons in the colony reside in barrack-type premises.
Beds are arranged in a single tier, although in some units the monitors observed bunk beds. Some beds are placed directly next to each other without partitions, which violates the right to privacy.
It was noted in the living quarters that the convicted persons continue to filter drinking water using homemade filters.
There are refrigerators and electric kettles in the dining rooms.
Some living units have been renovated and modern washbasins have been installed.
DIZO-PKT Section
There were 5 persons in the DIZO-PKT area, and the monitors were able to speak with some of them.
The DIZO and PKT premises have been renovated; the sanitary facilities are in proper condition and partitioned by walls. The convicted persons are able to ventilate the rooms.
In the cells, there are containers with drinking water and washbasins in good condition, and the convicted persons are able to ventilate the rooms.
In the DIZO cells, the beds were locked, which is not provided for by regulatory legal acts.
There are containers with drinking water available in the DIZO cells.
Food Block
The food block premises are in satisfactory condition, clean, and tidy. At the time of the monitors’ visit, lunch was being prepared. There was an unpleasant smell of fish in the food block, although the dishes the monitors saw appeared edible.
Bread is baked in the colony every day.
Meat is stored in a refrigerator. Fish is defrosted in a bathtub.
The dining room is spacious and the tables are clean. A menu with all the necessary details is displayed at the entrance to the dining room.
The colony grows raspberries and cucumbers and prepares preserves for the winter.
Bathhouse and Laundry Facility
The bathhouse and laundry facility were completely renovated a few years ago.
Shower stalls are separated from one another by low partitions. Furthermore, there are no mats in each stall, and there are no curtains, which significantly violates the convicted persons’ right to privacy.
There is a corner for the medical assistant in the bathhouse that is not partitioned by a special wall, which violates the right to privacy.
Communication with the Outside World
Parcels and packages are issued in a specially equipped room in the institution. The visitor room is very small, has not been renovated, and is in a neglected state.
Convicted persons may use both mobile phones and payphones.
According to the administration, since the beginning of the year, convicted persons have made 106 calls via the Internet, with the cost of a call being 11 hryvnias and 20 kopecks.
The institution has 5 workstations with access to the Internet.
Over the last year, 4 long-term visits and 45 short-term visits have taken place.
The visitation rooms have been renovated, and renovation work is underway in some others.
