SOS from those detained in the Chernihiv SIZO

On 29 March 2008, three minors were brutally beaten in Chernihiv SIZO No. 31

Once again, “masks-show”?

The Kharkiv Human Rights Group received a report that on 18 March, special forces in masks and full combat gear, approximately 10 men, were brought into penal institution No. 55 (Sofiivka, Vilniansk district, Zaporizhzhia region).

Prisons from Lviv and Sokal will be moved to Mykolaiv district even before Euro-2012

Penal colonies from Lviv and Sokal are planned to be transferred to the territory of the Mykolaiv district, where a whole prison complex will be built.

Information Note on the Working Meeting of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Lviv Region, 4 March 2008.

Information Note: On 4 March 2008, the Main Directorate held a regular working meeting of the Public Council under the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Lviv Region.

A criminal case has been opened against officials of Colony No. 30

The Lviv prosecutor for supervising the observance of laws during the execution of court decisions in criminal cases has opened a criminal case based on the fact of abuse of official position by officials of the Lychakivska Penal Colony No. 30.

A “round table” meeting took place at the Chernihiv RSA

A “round table” meeting took place at the Chernihiv RSA, at which the issues of social adaptation of persons released from places of deprivation of liberty were considered

What are the secrets of the Voroshilovsky Court in Donetsk?

The issue of the conditions for detaining persons who are in custody and brought to court buildings for the duration of legal proceedings is poorly researched. They do not spend long in courts – only a few hours – and therefore, human rights organisations often pay no attention to the conditions of their detention. At the same time, this is a fairly serious complex of problems.

Court ruling regarding the unlawful actions of the head of the department administration in the ARC

Decision of the Zaliznychnyi District Court of Simferopol, dated 12 May 2006, regarding the administrative lawsuit filed by Oleksandr Bukalov, head of the human rights organisation “Donetsk Memorial”, for the recognition as unlawful of the actions – failure to provide requested information regarding the activities of penal institutions – by the Acting Head of the Administration of the State Department for the Execution of Punishments in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, M.I. Spiridonov. Provided are the texts of the court decision and the administrative lawsuit.

Court decision regarding the unlawful actions of the head of the Chernihiv Department

Judgment of the Budyonny District Court of Donetsk of 14 September 2007 regarding the administrative claim of Oleksandr Bukalov, head of the human rights organisation “Donetsk Memorial”, concerning the unlawful refusal to provide information by V. I. Lopatin, Head of the Department of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Chernihiv Region. Provided are the texts of the court judgment, the administrative claim, the statement of defence by the Department of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Chernihiv Region against the administrative claim of O. Bukalov, and his observations regarding these objections.

The mechanism for protecting the rights of those sentenced to imprisonment during distribution to penal institutions

The mechanism established by the regulatory legal acts of the Department for protecting the rights of those sentenced to imprisonment when determining the type of penal institution does not correspond to the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine and current legislation, and its unjustified complexity introduces only unnecessary confusion into practical operations.

Where Is Ukraine’s Prison System Heading?

This article could have been written a year or two ago. Its title could have been “Failed Management of the Penal System,” “The Decline of the State Penitentiary Service,” or “Is There a Limit to Human Rights Neglect in the Penitentiary System?” Until now, its publication was hindered by a sense of ethical restraint, as it concerns the state system and officials I know well. There were hopes for the better, but they proved futile.

Report on the Remediation of Shortcomings in the Work of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences, as Outlined in the Act on the Results of the Inspection Conducted by the Interdepartmental Government Commission from 17–28 September 2007