A repeated monitoring visit was carried out to Novgorod-Siverskaya Penitentiary No. 31 in Chernihiv region

As part of the implementation of the national preventive mechanism, employees of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights, together with the regional coordinator of the Commissioner in Chernihiv region Alla Lepekha and the representative of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Tukhan Ediyev, conducted a monitoring visit to the Novgorod-Siversk prison of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine in Chernihiv region (No. 31) in order to assess the status of the institution’s implementation of the recommendations made following the results of the previous visit in July 2014.

The main feature of this institution is that most of the persons held there are sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition, it performs the functions of a pre-trial detention center and a house of arrest.

The participants of the visit freely visited the residential and other premises, familiarized themselves with the documentation of the institution and talked with the prisoners.

The administration of the institution is taking measures to bring the conditions of detention of persons in accordance with the established standards. The institution ensures the right of convicts to make telephone calls and use the global Internet, although during the previous visit there were frequent complaints about the violation of these rights.

A characteristic of most pre-trial detention centers and institutions that perform their functions is the violation of the rights of prisoners during their stay in collective departments, where newly arrived persons are held. The monitoring group found that the Novgorod-Siverskaya penal institution is no exception. The cells of the collective unit are located in a semi-basement and are the so-called “stone bags”. The specified premises do not meet any national and international standards: there is no access to natural lighting, fresh air and water, they are not equipped with forced ventilation, bathrooms and tables. There is no medical office in the specified unit, in connection with which the initial examination is carried out by a medical worker directly in the cells.

There are also violations of labor protection rules in the institution. The monitors saw that in a cell equipped for the production of souvenir products, convicts worked with paint and varnish materials without using personal respiratory protection equipment. At the same time, the specified production room was not equipped with forced ventilation.

There are no drinking water tanks in the cell premises of the institution. The walls of individual cells for holding persons taken into custody and sentenced to arrest are damp and affected by fungus, and the bathrooms are in unsatisfactory condition.

During the visit, violations of the requirements of the legislation regarding the separate detention of certain categories of persons were also revealed. Thus, a person sentenced to arrest was held in the same cell as a person taken into custody.

In addition, in violation of the requirements of the Criminal Enforcement Code of Ukraine, funds for food are withheld from the income of convicts.

During the visit, it was noted that the institution violates the right of prisoners to medical care. According to representatives of the administration, the medical part of the institution has been reorganized, and the former functional premises have been converted into cells for holding persons who are malicious violators of discipline. Instead of a medical unit, a health care center has been established in the institution, which does not provide full-fledged medical care to prisoners. At the same time, inpatient care is not provided at all.

A psychiatrist who has not been certified for the assignment (confirmation) of qualification categories for more than 25 years is engaged in the treatment of patients. The situation is similar with a radiologist who has also not been certified for a long time. In accordance with the requirements of the legislation, these doctors do not have the right to practice medicine in their specialty without prior internship.

The institution lacks the necessary diagnostic equipment, and the equipment in the X-ray room is extremely outdated. According to the radiologist, prisoners refuse the proposed X-ray examinations for reasons of personal safety. Dispensary registration is not organized. There is no emergency medical cabinet, and the first-aid kit of the paramedic on duty contains only tablet preparations.

Based on the results of the monitoring visit, a corresponding report indicating the identified violations of prisoners’ rights and providing practical recommendations for their elimination will be sent to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.