Model Alekseevka Penal Colony No. 25: Torture, Abuse, Fabrication of Criminal Cases…

One cannot speak of humanising the penal system or matching the level of prisoner detention to minimum standards as long as torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the honour and dignity of convicts continue in the department’s institutions—that is, what is occurring at Alekseevka Colony No. 25.

Model Alekseevka Penal Colony No. 25: Torture, Abuse, Fabrication of Criminal Cases…

One cannot speak of humanising the penal system or matching the level of prisoner detention to minimum standards as long as torture, ill-treatment, and violations of the honour and dignity of convicts continue in the department’s institutions—that is, what is occurring at Alekseevka Colony No. 25.

An Unprecedented Disgrace for the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine at the International Level

I would like to warn everyone against using the State Penitentiary Service’s unofficial translation of the CPT Report due to its inadequacy to the original. Moreover, it is so poor that it causes concern regarding the future fate of the CPT’s recommendations.

Pardon Rules Remain Unchanged

The Presidential Administration does not wish to change the Regulation on Pardons

Should Women Be Punished with Life Imprisonment?

The human rights organisation ‘Donetsk Memorial’ has submitted a proposal to abolish the criminal punishment of life imprisonment for all women.

A Section of the Annual Report That Was ‘Unlucky’

Some notes on the section of the Ombudsman’s report regarding the observance of prisoners’ rights

Report of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Presentation of the First Steps of the National Preventive Mechanism (Analysis of the Penitentiary Direction)

It is extremely necessary to increase the level of professionalism, attentiveness, and effectiveness of the NPM, as well as the ‘penitentiary direction’ of the Ombudsman’s office activities in general.

Problems in the Execution of European Court of Human Rights Judgments in the Penitentiary Sphere

The analysis conducted indicates the existence of significant deficiencies in the mechanism for executing ECtHR judgments, both by the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine and by the Government Agent before the ECtHR. Many essential provisions of the Court’s judgments remain ignored, resulting in some of them not being executed at all.

Pardons Under New Rules

A draft of the updated 'Regulations on the Procedure for Granting Pardons' has been submitted to the President of Ukraine. Letter to the President, text of the updated Regulations, and Explanatory Note

The Presumption of Guilt from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine: A Step into the Past for Pre-trial Detention Centres

New rules for detention in pre-trial detention centres are crueller than the previous ones

The ‘Disorder’ of Prison Visits by Journalists

Requirements by prison administrations for journalists to obtain permission to visit their institutions are often unlawful

Prison-Style Noodles

‘Legality’ as Practised by the Penitentiary Service