Report on the results of the monitoring visit to the State Institution ‘Zhytomyr Correctional Colony (No. 4)’

07.05.2023 Serhii Zuykov, Andrii Didenko, Oleksii Yaroslavtsev

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In the institution’s medical unit, violations of the convicts’ rights to protection against torture and inhuman treatment, as well as to proper sanitary and hygienic conditions, were identified.

On 11 April 2023, a monitoring group, consisting of an assistant to a People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Kostiantyn Kasai; a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Serhii Zuykov; an assistant to a People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn; a programme coordinator of the KHPG, Andrii Didenko; and a journalist from the ‘Poryad z vamy’ Information Agency, Oleksa Yaroslavtsev, conducted a preventive regular monitoring visit to the state institution ‘Zhytomyr Correctional Colony (No. 4)’.

The previous visit took place on 22 June 2022.

General information

The state institution ‘Zhytomyr Correctional Colony (No. 4)’ is a medium-security correctional colony for holding men convicted for the first time of committing serious and especially serious crimes.

This year’s visit was carried out as part of the project ‘Reducing Prisoner Suffering in the Context of the War in Ukraine’, funded by the government of Denmark in partnership with DIGNITY — The Danish Institute Against Torture. The purpose of the visit was to collect and analyse data regarding the observance of human rights in the penal institution.

The group was accompanied by the head of the institution, Colonel of the Internal Service Oleksandr Yosypovych Bochkovskyi.

The monitors entered the institution’s territory without hindrance or delay and had the opportunity to visit any premises without restriction and to communicate with convicts, including on the condition of anonymity. The following areas were inspected: the production zone, the disciplinary unit (DIZO)/disciplinary cell (DPK), the canteen, the bath and laundry complex, and the living quarters.

According to the institution’s management, there are 4.9 convicts per administrative staff member. One psychologist works at the institution. The cost of maintaining one prisoner per day is 90.67 hryvnias. During 2023, 117 convicts arrived at the institution. In 2022, 7 people died at the institution. 105 convicts are employed under civil law contracts. The average monthly salary of convicts in the current year is 1,552.00 hryvnias. There is a shop operating at the institution. At the time of the visit, there were 2 people in the disciplinary unit (DIZO).

In the medical facility of the Health Care Center of the State Penitentiary Service (HCC SPS) on the institution’s territory, there are 2 people. There are 40 people registered with HIV/AIDS. Registered as prone to suicide — 12; as prone to self-harm — 31; as escape risks — 12; as malicious violators of the detention regime — 27 people.

No complaints regarding inadequate conditions of detention or inadequate provision of medical care were recorded in 2022 or during the current year.

As of 01.04.2023, 1 person had a first-group disability, 5 had a second-group, and 10 had a third-group disability.

In 2022, 297 people were released, of whom 144 were released on parole, and for another 54, the detention regime was changed to a more lenient one. Since the beginning of 2023, 69 people have been released, including 45 on parole, and another 6 convicts had their detention regime softened.

In 2022, 14 ambulance calls were registered; since the beginning of 2023, there have been 2 such calls. In 2022, 24 cases of bodily injury were recorded, of which 2 occurred upon arrival, and 22 occurred during the stay in the institution. Since the beginning of 2023, 5 cases of bodily injury have been recorded during the stay in the institution.

212 visits using the Internet took place. The institution provides such visits free of charge. In 2022, 18 long-term and 126 short-term visits through glass were provided; the practice of short-term contact visits is not used. In 2023, as of the time of the visit, 13 long-term and 67 short-term visits have already been provided. In the current year, 275 telephone calls have been made.

There are 8 Social and Psychological Service (SPS) wards operating in the institution. There is a shortage of junior personnel.

The practice of an absence of complaints from convicts regarding the actions (inaction) of the institution’s management suggests that either the convicts are being persecuted for filing complaints, or the convicts see no point in sending them.

Production

There is a production unit and a workshop at the institution.

Woodworking operations take place in the industrial zone. Convicts assemble wooden crates and chop firewood.

About one hundred people work continuously in production. According to the production manager, people with the appropriate qualifications and only those who have a passport and an identification code can be hired.

This is the workshop for manufacturing wooden packaging. The interviewed convicts do not have information regarding their wages.

Convict K. reported that he earned 800 hryvnias last month. Convict P. reported that he earns an average of 600–700 hryvnias per month. Convict P. reported that he is paid for his work with cigarettes.

Forced labour

The Fundamental Law — the Constitution of Ukraine (Article 43) states: “Everyone has the right to proper, safe and healthy conditions of work, to remuneration not lower than that determined by law”; Article 8 of the Criminal Executive Code guarantees social protection to convicts and the right to paid work in accordance with labour legislation.

The calculation of wages for convicts working at the enterprise was checked. It turned out that the following wages were accrued to convicts for March: convict S. — 430 UAH 50 kop., D. — 430 UAH 50 kop., K. — 615 UAH 60 kop., M. — 585 UAH 48 kop., K. — 430 UAH 50 kop., Zh. — 430 UAH 50 kop. The convicts work a full day in production, and the accrued amounts are several times lower than the minimum wage. The administration explains such low earnings by saying that payment is the result of work performed, but such earnings can be equated to the convicts working for free.

DIZO/PKT/DPK

There are 17 cells in total in the DIZO/PKT/DPK premises.

There were 2 people in the DIZO, 2 convicts on general grounds, and 6 convicts in the DPK. The PKT (cell-type premises) is not used.

The convicts sit in the cells alone. Communication with everyone took place on the condition of anonymity.

All convicts who are in the DPK and are not under disciplinary punishment are, in fact, held in solitary confinement.

All cells have video surveillance.

Visits to the bathhouse are once every 10 days.

There is a room for examination by a doctor. The exercise yards are separate for the DIZO and DPK. Exercise equipment is available for those who wish to use it.

There are no tanks for drinking water.

Living quarters

All convicts live in general dormitories.

The so-called ward for the disabled, where elderly people and people with disabilities live, differs from other wards due to much worse conditions; bunk beds are present.

Convict L., born in 1960, was sentenced to 11 years, has served 6 years; he lived in Zhytomyr before his conviction and does not receive a pension due to the lack of a passport.

Convict M. requested assistance regarding the non-provision of medical care for a problem with his right arm; he has the funds for treatment.

Beds in some living quarters are separated, and the premises are in need of repair.

Convict D., born in 1952, requested to clarify the issue regarding receiving a pension: he used to receive a pension, but payments have stopped recently.

Some premises are bright and spacious, while others are overcrowded and have bunk beds.

In the corridor, there are tanks with drinking water.

Living quarters for people working on the institution’s farm are renovated and have individual space.

Communication with the outside world

Representatives of the administration stated that the convicts do not have any tablets in their possession. Regarding this question, convicts from different wards testified that they do not have tablets and do not know any convicts who would have tablets in their possession. Telephone conversations are significantly restricted. People have not even heard about the Internet.

Convict P., 22 years old, has not made a single phone call in a year and a half; he has no communication with relatives, but receives parcels once a month. Convict Zh. is serving 6 years, 4 years left to serve. He last spoke with relatives a week ago; payment is made at the expense of relatives to a general account. He has not seen anyone with a tablet.

Telephone conversations take place in the duty unit or in the head of the ward’s office. There is one phone per ward, which is kept in the duty unit. Short-term contact visits are not practised at the institution. In the room, which the administration claims is intended for Internet communication, there are 4 computers, although in fact, only one is working.

There is 1 tablet in the institution for conversations via the Internet with people located abroad.

Medical unit

The head of the medical unit No. 4 of the branch of the state institution ‘Health Care Center of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine’ in the Zhytomyr region (hereinafter — the medical unit) is Pavlo Vatslavovych Yavorskyi.

During the visit, the monitoring group inspected the premises of the medical unit without hindrance, familiarised itself with the conditions for organising the provision of medical care to convicts, and had access to medical documentation.

The medical unit’s inpatient facility has 5 wards for somatic patients, designed for 15 beds, and an infectious isolation ward with 2 rooms, designed for 4 people.

The specified isolation ward is not used in connection with repair work that began back at the end of 2021. According to clause 5.6 of the Lease Agreement, it is the duty of the lessee (the branch of the SI ‘Health Care Center of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine’ in the Zhytomyr region), in particular, to timely carry out current repairs of the leased property at its own expense. However, the branch of the SI ‘Health Care Center of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine’ in the Zhytomyr region is not taking sufficient measures regarding the actual implementation of this clause.

There is no isolation ward for the mentally ill.

The medical unit includes: the head of the medical unit’s office, a manipulation room, a procedural room, a dental office, and a psychiatrist’s office.

On the day of the visit, the following positions in the medical unit were filled:

Head of the medical unit — 1 position;
Therapist — 1 pos.;
Psychiatrist — 0.5 pos.;
Phthisiatrician — 0.5 pos.;
Dentist — 0.5 pos.;
Senior paramedic — 1.0 pos.;
Paramedic — 4 pos.;
Laboratory assistant — 0.5 pos.;
Pharmacy assistant — 0.5 pos.;
Nurse — 1 pos.;
Junior nurse — 0.5 pos.

Vacant positions:

General practitioner — family doctor — 1 position;
X-ray laboratory assistant — 0.5 pos.;
Radiologist — 0.5 pos.

Dispensary observation is carried out for: 64 somatic patients, 33 persons with tuberculosis (5.1), 23 mentally ill persons, and 25 persons with disabilities, of whom: 1st group — 1 person; 2nd group — 15 persons; 3rd group — 9 persons.

According to the logbook, 5 cases of bodily injury have been recorded in the institution this year.

During the monitoring visit, the following shortcomings were identified in the work of Medical Unit No. 4, which lead to the violation of the rights of convicts in the SI ‘Zhytomyr Correctional Colony (No. 4)’.

Persons held in the medical unit are not fully provided with personal protective equipment; strict control over adherence to the mask regime among prisoners on the territory of the institution is not exercised; daily temperature screening of convicts is not carried out.

In violation of the requirements of the ‘Norms for bedding, special clothing and special footwear (inventory property) for convicts undergoing treatment in medical-preventive institutions, institutions with the status of medical ones, and in medical units of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres’, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated 20.02.2012 No. 280/5, convicts do not receive hospital property (hospital suit, gown, and slippers).

In violation of the ‘State sanitary and anti-epidemic rules and norms regarding the handling of medical waste’ approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 08.06.2015 No. 325, the branch of the SI ‘HCC SPS of Ukraine’ in the Zhytomyr region has not concluded an agreement with a specialised institution for the disposal of medical waste, in connection with which proper collection, sorting, and disposal of medical waste has not been organised in the medical unit since the beginning of 2023.

Non-compliance with infection control and epidemiological surveillance

According to information provided by the medical staff, on the day of the visit, there was not a single person in the inpatient medical unit. In violation of the ‘Measures and means for preventing infection when providing patient care’, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 03.08.2020 No. 1777, there is no isolation ward for infectious patients operating in the medical unit, which makes it impossible to simultaneously house patients with dangerous infectious diseases separately from each other and from other convicts. At the same time, the monitoring group established that there are 3 convicts in the institution suffering from active tuberculosis, who were isolated and placed in a temporary isolation ward located in the building of a former dental laboratory, which is in an emergency condition, is unsuitable for safe habitation, and does not meet the requirements of Article 22 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On ensuring the sanitary and epidemic well-being of the population’. In violation of the requirements of clause 2 of Section II of the ‘Standard of infection control for health care institutions providing assistance to patients with tuberculosis’, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health dated 01.02.2019 No. 287, the medical unit did not comply with the requirements for the isolation of tuberculosis patients. Thus, two other convicts were in the adjacent ward, one of whom reported that he performs the function of a duty orderly and is assigned to the SPS Ward No. 7, and the other is there due to a suspicion of tuberculosis.
The dilapidated premises are in need of repair work; there is terrible unsanitary condition, exposed electrical wiring, a toilet clogged with waste, a lack of showers, the inability for persons with special needs to move around due to steep stairs and the lack of ramps; the premises are cold and damp, there is mould on the walls, and tiles are falling off the wall panels, which makes disinfection of the premises impossible. The rooms in which patients are held are not equipped with tanks for boiled drinking water and supply and exhaust ventilation. All the above-mentioned facts indicate a violation of the rights of convicts to protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) and a violation of the convicts’ right to proper sanitary and hygienic conditions of stay in a health care facility.

This year, 7 convicts with active tuberculosis have been identified in the institution. At the same time, due to the lack of a working fluorography or X-ray machine, prisoners do not undergo diagnostic examinations of the chest cavity to timely detect respiratory diseases. That is, it is impossible to carry out early diagnosis of tuberculosis diseases in the medical unit.
Furthermore, there is no possibility to conduct a full preventive medical examination, which violates clause 3 of Section II of the ‘Procedure for organising the provision of medical care to convicts sentenced to imprisonment’, approved by 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.

Violation of the rights of persons with disabilities (Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

Dispensary observation is carried out for 25 persons with disabilities. Of them: 1st group — 1 person; 2nd group — 15 persons; 3rd group — 9 persons. At the same time, in violation of the requirements of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine’, persons with disabilities do not receive proper diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation measures in the presence of information confirming persistent impairment of body functions caused by diseases and consequences of injuries that cause limitations in normal life activity. During the study of the medical documentation of the convicts, it was established that 6 people lack individual rehabilitation programmes, and the recommendations of individual rehabilitation programmes are not fulfilled, in connection with which they do not receive proper diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation measures in the presence of information confirming persistent impairment of body functions caused by diseases and consequences of injuries that cause limitations in normal life activity.

In addition, in violation of the requirements of the State Building Norms of Ukraine V.2.2-17:2006 ‘Buildings and structures. Accessibility of buildings and structures for low-mobility groups of the population’, conditions for housing people with disabilities have not been created in the institution (there are no ramps, handrails, etc.).

Violation of the rights of persons suffering from viral hepatitis C

During 2023, 231 tests for the presence of viral hepatitis C were conducted in the medical unit, from which 26 people were suspected of having the disease.
In violation of the requirements of the ‘Standards of medical care for HCV in adults’, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 15.01.2021 No. 51, persons suspected of having viral hepatitis C do not undergo PCR testing, due to which they do not receive the necessary treatment, which may lead to the deterioration of their health and the spread of this infectious disease among convicts and prisoners.

Violation of the convicts’ right to proper dental care

In violation of the requirements of the ‘Table of equipment for one workplace of a dentist and dental technician’, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 11.04.2005 No. 158, there is no dental X-ray machine in the medical unit, which makes it impossible to conduct an in-depth dental examination and does not ensure the timely provision of proper dental care to prisoners and convicts.

Violation of the rights of convicts and prisoners to receive primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care

In accordance with the requirements of clause 7 of Part 1 of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 27 December 2022 No. 1464 ‘Some issues of implementation of the programme of state guarantees of medical services for the population in 2023’, the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) pays for medical services provided based on paper referrals of patients held in penal institutions or pre-trial detention centres of the State Penitentiary Service, until the creation of the technical capability by the health care institutions of the State Penitentiary Service to issue electronic referrals. However, due to the lack of signed declarations with a primary care physician by the convicts, they do not have the opportunity to receive the necessary medical services at the expense of the NHSU, which leads to a violation of the requirements of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine ‘Fundamentals of the legislation of Ukraine on health care’.

Canteen

Repair work is taking place.

There are 36 tables for 10 people in the canteen; 360 convicts can be accommodated at one time. Convicts who are not formally employed under labour contracts work there.

According to the colony’s management, about 60 convicts are involved in work in the canteen, working in shifts without pay. The interviewed convicts confirmed that they work from 6 o’clock in the morning. The survey was conducted in the pre-lunch period at 11:30, meaning the convicts had been working without a shift change for about 5 hours and 30 minutes on the day of the visit. Convict S. has been working in the canteen for six years and does not receive a salary.