The Penal System of Ukraine in 2021. A Statistical Review

In the detention facilities of Ukraine’s penal system controlled by the Ukrainian government (i.e., excluding institutions in Crimea and the occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions), according to data provided to ‘Donetsk Memorial’ by the Department for the Execution of Criminal Punishments of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, 48,251 people were held as of 1 January 2022 (hereafter, figures in brackets refer to 1 January 2021: 49,823 people). Over the year, the number of people in detention facilities decreased by 1,572 people (3,040 people), or by -3.26% (-5.75%). (Department letter No. 3/1-17-1-22/9-Pi of 19 January 2022).

The dynamics of the number of people in penal system institutions over the last eight years are shown in the following Table 1.

Таблиця 1

* Estimated data taking into account institutions in the occupied territory of Donbas.

The incarceration rate per 100,000 population for Ukraine is 117 (120). It is calculated based on the population of Ukraine, which, according to official data, stood at 41.3 million people as of 1 January 2022.

As of 1 January 2022, 14,568 people (16,673 people a year ago) were held in custody in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions with pre-trial detention functions, including 734 women (997 women a year ago). The number of minors in pre-trial detention centres is 94 (127 people a year ago). Thus, over the year, the number of all persons held in custody decreased by 2,105 (the previous year it decreased by 829 people), or by -12.63% (-4.74%).

In 2021, 8,380 people did not end up in penal institutions from pre-trial detention centres and were released from them (8,656 people the year before). Among the main reasons for release from pre-trial detention centres throughout 2021 were: a change of preventive measure to a more lenient one — 4,657 people (a year ago — 4,629 people); sentencing to imprisonment, but for a relatively short term — as a rule, a term that the detained person had already served while in the pre-trial detention centre — 2,462 people (471 people); as well as the imposition of sentences not involving deprivation of liberty — 880 people (943 people a year ago); and the termination of cases by courts and acquittals — 33 people (a year ago — 30 people).

Statistical data regarding the reasons for the release of persons from pre-trial detention centres in recent years are presented in Table 2.

Таблиця 2

The number of convicted persons increased in 2021 from 33,150 to 33,683 people, i.e., by 533 people (a year ago — it decreased by 2,211 people), or by +1.61% (-6.25%). Of these, 54 people are serving sentences specifically in educational colonies for minors (a year ago — 65), 30 of whom are under the age of 18 (a year ago — 37 people).

The number of convicted women serving sentences in penal institutions is 1,774 (a year ago — 1,478 women).

The number of life-sentenced prisoners as of 1 January 2022 was 1,575 (a year ago — 1,541 people; four years ago — 1,572 people), including 24 women (a year ago — 23 women). During the year, the number of life-sentenced prisoners increased by 34 (last year — by 5).

During 2021, according to the Department, 33,765 people entered the institutions (12,957 people), 11,722 people left (12,934 people), and 454 people died (485 people). Therefore, the number of people in penal institutions should have increased by 21,589. In reality, their number decreased by 1,572.

Attention has been drawn to these strange features of record-keeping in institutions to the Department repeatedly, but so far in vain.

In 2021, 3,820 people were paroled (a year ago — 4,400 people; five years ago — 9,244 people) out of a total of 11,919 people who formally qualified for parole (a year ago — 12,000 people). This accounts for 32.05% of those who formally qualified for parole. It is worth noting the specific dynamics of this indicator. A year ago, it was 36.67%; two years ago — 37.34%; three years ago — 37.8%; four years ago — 38.22%; five years ago — 41.15%; six years ago — 47.2%; seven years ago — 53.5%. The trend is obvious, and it would also be interesting to know its causes.

The number of able-bodied persons in penal institutions as of 1 January 2022 was 21,891 (a year ago — 19,002 people), or 64.99% (57.32%) of the total number of convicted persons, of whom 6,481 were provided with work (a year ago — 6,101 people). This accounts for 29.61% of the number of able-bodied persons (as of 01.01.2021 — 32.11%; for comparison — as of 01.01.2017, 47.2%) and 19.24% of the total number of convicted persons (a year ago — 18.40%). The average monthly salary of employed persons in 2021 was 3,875 UAH, whereas a year ago it was 2,067 UAH per month.

Thus, the employment coverage of convicted persons has noticeably fallen.

According to information provided by the Department for Citizenship, Pardons, and State Awards of the Office of the President of Ukraine (letter No. 19/21-11/3 of 09.02.2022), 510 pardon petitions were received during 2021 (a year ago — regarding 592 convicted persons). The Commission on Pardons under the President of Ukraine held three meetings during the year (the previous year — also three), at which pardon petitions for 417 people were considered (the previous year — 269 people). In 2021, the President of Ukraine issued, as in the previous year, only two decrees on the pardon of 32 people (a year ago, 10 people were pardoned). The request for information on what proportion of them were pardoned within the framework of agreements on the exchange of hostages, and which were outside these frameworks, was refused. There were no press conferences, briefings, or even press releases about pardons during 2021, nor were any publications on these issues initiated in the media. Moreover, during the first half of 2021, Commission meetings were not held; the last one in 2020 took place in August. Thus, for almost a year, the Commission did not meet a single time.

A certain indicator of the complexity of problems in the medical sphere and the provision of medical services is the level of morbidity, mortality, and the number of suicide cases in the agency's institutions.

According to the Healthcare Centre of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine (letter No. 258-o5/UA-22 of 20.01.2022), 454 people died in penal institutions during 2021 (485 people), including 189 people in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions (179 people). The number of suicide cases during the stay of persons in all detention facilities in 2021 was 45 (52), including 20 cases in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions (13 people). Thus, in recent years, the level of mortality and suicides has not changed significantly.

The number of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis at the end of 2021 was 801 (886 people), including 193 people (214 people) in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions. Calculated per 1,000 prisoners, the number of such patients has decreased for the second consecutive year in 2021, from 17.78 to 16.60.

The dynamics of these indicators in recent years are shown in Table 3.

Morbidity and mortality in the Department's institutions in 2003, 2012, and in 2016-2021

Таблиця 3

The number of HIV-positive persons in 2021 increased — from 3,901 people to 3,993 people, including 1,167 people who are in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions (1,172 people), and per 1,000 prisoners, their number continues to grow — from 78.30 to 82.75.

As of 1 January 2022, there were 1,364 people with disabilities held in penal institutions (a year ago — 1,244 people), including 291 people in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions (220).

According to the Probation Centre, as of 01.01.2022, there were 63,531 people registered with authorised probation bodies who were sentenced to punishments not involving deprivation of liberty (a year ago — 59,029 people), including 713 minors (a year ago — 739 people) (letter No. 675/1/Yan-22 of 22.02.2022).

There are also prisoners in some other agencies.

Territorial bodies of the police in 2021 had 126 temporary detention facilities (129) with a total occupancy limit of 2.7 thousand places (2.9 thousand places). As of 1 January 2022, 113 people were in them (147 people). In total, during 2021, 51.9 thousand people were held in temporary detention facilities (53.7 thousand people). (letter No. 335zi/37/2/01-2022 of 10 February 2022).

During 2021, 6 (4) detained and held-in-custody persons died in temporary detention facilities: three people who were being held specifically in temporary detention facilities committed suicide and one died as a result of liver cirrhosis; in the rooms for detainees of police territorial bodies, one person committed suicide and one person died as a result of acute heart failure.

In 2021, 103 police officers died (a year ago, 55 people), including 7 police officers under circumstances not related to the performance of official duties (a year ago, also 7 people).

The SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) operates one temporary detention facility in Kyiv — for detaining persons suspected of preparing or conducting reconnaissance and subversive, terrorist activities, and committing other crimes, the investigation of which is under the jurisdiction of SBU bodies. The capacity of the facility is 48 people. As of 01.01.2022, 14 people were being held there (last year — 14 people), and in total throughout 2021, 84 people were held there (77 people). There were no deaths of detained persons in 2020 (SBU letter No. 16/B-1-P/39/228 of 14.01.2022).

Children who have committed criminal offences under the age of 14 are sent to schools and vocational schools of social rehabilitation. These institutions are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and currently, two are operating — the Komyshuvakha School of Social Rehabilitation for boys, Zaporizhzhia region (designed for 160 people), in which 7 boys were held as of 01.01.2022 (8 last year), and the Makiivka Vocational School of Social Rehabilitation for boys, which is temporarily housed in the Balakhivka School of Social Rehabilitation, Kirovohrad region (designed for 180 people), and in which 6 boys remained (last year, 5 boys) (letter No. 4/54-22 of 11.01.2022).

The number of violations by the staff of the institutions testifies to the level of compliance with the rule of law during the detention of prisoners. It is impossible to estimate the true number of such cases, but the statistical data received from the Department and the Office of the Prosecutor General give some idea of the scale of the phenomenon.

According to the Department, the number of employees of penal institutions held liable in 2021 was 4,743 people, of whom 90 were held criminally liable; the number of employees of penal institutions dismissed for committing violations was 113 people (Department letter No. 8/3-43-22/28pi of 25.01.2022).

The Office of the Prosecutor General provided information on specific indicators of the work of prosecutors regarding supervision of compliance with laws during the execution of court decisions in criminal cases for 2021, which is shown in Table 4.

Таблиця 4

* Including not only penitentiary institutions, but also psychiatric hospitals, military units, and some others.

The Office of the Prosecutor General did not report how many of the total of 4,365 documents of prosecutorial response with measures to eliminate violations of the law concerned specifically penitentiary institutions.

During 2021, 83 employees of the State Criminal-Executive Service (SCES) were held criminally liable (taking into account persons who committed criminal offences in previous years), of which 44 were from the current period (letter of the Office of the Prosecutor General No. 27/3-71 out-22 of 13.01.2022).

For comparison: in 2019, 1,758 documents of prosecutorial response regarding employees of correctional colonies and pre-trial detention centres with measures to eliminate violations of the law were considered. At the same time, 1,913 people were held to disciplinary, administrative, and material liability, and 47 SCES employees were held criminally liable (see item 42 of the 2019 Report).

During 2020, prosecutors submitted 1,817 documents of prosecutorial response. As a result of their consideration, 2,136 people were held liable; 32 SCES employees were held criminally liable (letter of the Office of the Prosecutor General No. 27/3-132out-21 of 15.01.2021).

One of the few institutions in the country that has the authority to monitor human rights compliance is the Ombudsman (Commissioner) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (hereafter — the Ombudsman). In 2021, this position was held by Lyudmyla Denisova. The role of the Ombudsman is particularly significant for prisoners because the law obliges the administration of penal institutions to send prisoners’ complaints to the Ombudsman without hindrance. Furthermore, in accordance with Article 19-1 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’, the Ombudsman is entrusted with the functions of the National Preventive Mechanism (hereafter — NPM) in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

According to data provided by the Ombudsman's Secretariat, as part of the implementation of the NPM, Secretariat staff carried out 981 monitoring visits to all types of places of detention (a year ago — 815 visits). Specifically, to institutions under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs — 219; the Ministry of Justice — 151; the Ministry of Defence — 10.

132 representatives of the public took part in 461 monitoring visits (a year ago — 118 representatives of the public in 277 visits and 31 experts in 33 visits).

Based on the results of the monitoring visits, 2,497 letters were sent to the relevant bodies, institutions, and organisations with recommendations for eliminating the identified violations.

In addition, in 2021, two acts of response were submitted to the heads of state authorities regarding the elimination of human rights violations identified during NPM monitoring visits (letter No. 01.2/15.14/15.13/22/31 of 11.01.2022).

The Secretariat did not report anything about the proposals made in 2021 regarding the prevention of torture and ill-treatment.

It is worth noting that a year earlier, to the question about the number of proposals submitted in 2020 by the Ombudsman to state authorities, institutions, and organisations regarding the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, the Secretariat replied that such information could not be provided by the Secretariat, as the Ombudsman's Secretariat does not possess such information. Moreover, it is not obliged to ‘maintain separate records of the number of proposals regarding the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. That is, whether there is torture and abuse in penal institutions and how widespread it is, the Ombudsman does not collect information, does not maintain separate records, and does not provide relevant proposals for the prevention of torture. Thus, the Ombudsman's Secretariat does not help to form an impression of progress in the fight against ill-treatment and torture in Ukraine or the lack thereof, or even of a possible significant deterioration in the situation.

The Ombudsman's Report notes that 981 monitoring visits and remote inspections were carried out during the year. Subsequently, there are no mentions of remote inspections, and the discussion is exclusively about visits. It should probably be understood that these figures also include remote inspections. Their number is not specified anywhere.

As an achievement, the Report notes:

“Monitoring visits covered 25% of all places of detention, which is the highest indicator since the introduction of the NPM in Ukraine…

The number of regular, independent NPM visits to any place under the jurisdiction and control of the state where persons deprived of liberty are or may be detained has increased more than 2-fold in recent years. As of 01.01.2021, the number of places of detention in Ukraine was 3,753.”

“Based on the Ombudsman's appeals to law enforcement agencies regarding the violation of the rights of persons in places of detention, pre-trial investigations have been initiated in 30 criminal proceedings.

In accordance with the strategic directions of the Ombudsman's activities in 2021, monitoring was conducted on the observance of the rights of persons to health care and medical assistance in medical facilities of the Healthcare Centre of the SCES of Ukraine and institutions providing psychiatric care. Based on the results of the monitoring, a special report was prepared, ‘The state of observance of the rights of prisoners to medical assistance during the reform of the healthcare system of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine in the period 2018–2021’.”

According to the Ombudsman's Secretariat, in 2021, 4,530 appeals were received regarding violations of the right to access public information (a year ago — 3,613; two years ago — 3,006). In addition, 12,859 appeals were received regarding the violation of the right to submit an appeal and receive a response.

For violation of the requirements of the law in accordance with Art. 212-3 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences, 175 administrative violation reports were drawn up during 2021 (a year ago — 174; two years ago — 240), which accounts for 4.8% of the number of appeals (last year, 8.0%). Thus, for 3,439 appeals (3,613 - 174), reports were not drawn up.

As of 31.12.2021, 12 people were held administratively liable for violating the requirements of the Law ‘On Access to Public Information’.

A year earlier, the Secretariat did not provide information on the number of persons held liable for violating the right to access public information, explaining that it could not provide it because it is not the administrator of this information — claiming that the issue of holding persons liable is decided by the court.

During 2021, 6 submissions from the Ombudsman were submitted to state authorities and local self-government bodies.

At the same time, the Ombudsman's acts of response regarding violations of the requirements of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Access to Public Information’ and the Law ‘On Citizens' Appeals’ were not sent.

* * * * *

The authors of this statistical review are grateful to the agencies that provided information upon the requests of ‘Donetsk Memorial’ regarding persons deprived of liberty who are in the institutions of the agency, or to whom the agency has a connection. We are grateful to the Department for the Execution of Criminal Punishments of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Healthcare Centre of the SCES of Ukraine, the Probation Centre, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and the Office of the President of Ukraine.

The information provided by them was used in the preparation of this review. The data and information presented in the review may be clarified and supplemented if relevant additional information is received.

The Penal System of Ukraine in 2021. A Statistical Review (pdf-file)