Complaints

An evaluation of complaint mechanisms in prisons in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. A study by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.

Prerequisites for the adoption of the Bangkok Rules

Female prisoners are a vulnerable group with special needs and requirements

The Bangkok Rules

Overview of the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders

Address by the Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, Alexander Reimer, at the board meeting on 25 February 2011

The measures we are initiating today, some of which have already been implemented, are by no means measures aimed at the liberalisation of the country's penal law.

Karpachova: Prisoners in pre-trial detention centres complain about the lengthy processing of criminal cases by the courts

In the Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, some defendants de facto serve their entire sentence or the greater part of it while awaiting a court verdict. For instance, 6 defendants have been held in the pre-trial detention centre since 2002, 15 since 2004–2006, and 34 since 2007.

Citizenship for Convicts

On 23 February, a training session entitled “Citizenship of Ukraine: Grounds for Acquisition and Termination” was held at the Chernihiv Correctional Colony, where women convicted of repeat offences are held. Press release

Mortality in Russian prisons has increased by six per cent over the year

In 2010, 4,423 people died in correctional institutions in Russia

Russian pre-trial detention centres have been decongested

At present, 694,500 prisoners are serving sentences in 755 Russian colonies. The number of people held in pre-trial detention centres in Russia has decreased, but those sitting on the bunks are still numerous — nearly a million

Where can former prisoners in the Dnipropetrovsk region go?

A major amnesty is expected in Ukraine. Under the “On Amnesty” law, 7,000 convicts will be released

‘Sign for a new term’

In Stalinist times, before the end of their detention, a convict would be summoned to the security post and made to read an order assigning a new term of punishment. It could be as long as ten years.

Public Oversight Forum in Russia

The second All-Russian Forum of Heads of Public Oversight Commissions took place in Moscow

Human Rights Training

The charitable organisation “Chernihiv Women’s Human Rights Centre” held a seminar-training on “International Standards and Human Rights in Penal Institutions of Ukraine”. Press release