‘They Simply Killed Him’ – Vitaliy Matukhno, a Cancer Patient, Has Died in a Prison Hospital
‘Vitaliy was killed knowingly and intentionally, because to them a human being is mere rubbish,’ says human rights defender Andriy Didenko, telling the story of a life-sentenced prisoner who should have been released on medical grounds but was left to die behind bars.
A Licence to Kill: Khmelnytskyi Acquits Colony Staff Accused of a Prisoner’s Death
By a verdict of the Khmelnytskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi Region dated 12 December 2022 (case No. 686/13590/16-k), two employees of Zamkova Correctional Colony (No. 58) were acquitted. They had been accused of beating a prisoner to death several years ago. Ninety-five pieces of evidence in the case were ruled inadmissible.
‘We Want Ukrainian Justice!’ – Life-Sentenced Prisoners Did Not Escape the Abandoned and Unguarded Kherson Pre-trial Detention Centre
11 November 2022, 11 am. The Russians are leaving Kherson in a panic. The city is about to return to Ukrainian control. There is a clamour in the corridors of the Kherson Pre-trial Detention Centre. Cell doors are being opened. Prisoners are scattering in all directions.
For five metal posts – five years of torture without medicine or surgery?
This barbaric story could only have happened in a state that cares absolutely nothing for its citizens. It all began in September 2020, when shocking news swept through the media: in a local hospital in the Mykolaiv region, Oleksiy Dudin’s amputated legs were handed over to his wife, Hanna, for burial.
The prosecution and the court ignore the European Court’s ruling
On 12 December, the Lviv Court of Appeal refused to release Vitaliy Matukhno, a life prisoner suffering from stage-four cancer, on health grounds. And this was despite the ECtHR’s ruling under Rule 39. The court did not even add this document to the case file. After all, it was... in English! The translation provided by the defence did not satisfy the judges either.
Monitoring visit to the State Institution ‘Kamianske Correctional Colony No. 34’
In the living quarters for convicts who do not work in the production facility, there are no household appliances or stools. Sitting on beds is not allowed, only on bedside tables. By using such artificial restrictions, the institution’s administration attempts to encourage women to work.
Monitoring visit to the State Institution “Dnipro Institution for the Execution of Sentences No. 4”
The head of the medical unit refused to provide any information regarding the institution’s activities. Convicts complained about the lack of medical treatment, bed linen, cutlery, etc. The cells in the tuberculosis block are overcrowded and in a dire, dilapidated state.
Monitoring visit to the State Institution “Bilenkivska Correctional Colony No. 99”
Medical assistance for convicts is not being provided in full. The impression was that the convicts were intimidated and did not dare to report human rights violations.
Monitoring visit to State Institution 'Kazankivska Correctional Colony No. 93'
The DIZO (Disciplinary Isolation Ward) and PKT (Chamber-type Premises) are located in damp basement facilities. Next to each cell hang the prisoners' spoons, attached to the wall, which the administration forbids them from keeping in the cell.
Monitoring visit to State Institution “Petrivska Correctional Colony No. 49”
In the medical unit of the institution, monitors recorded expired medicines. Medical assistance is not provided in full, particularly due to the absence of an infectious disease specialist and a shortage of medication.
ECHR applied Rule 39 to a life prisoner
Yesterday, 9 December, the European Court of Human Rights issued an urgent decision under Rule 39 in respect of Vitaliy Matukhno, a life prisoner suffering from cancer. In accordance with this decision, the Government of Ukraine must ensure the man receives a proper medical examination to assess his current state of health, provide him with the necessary medical assistance, and identify a medical institution capable of providing the patient with an adequate level of care.