Human rights activists found no traces of mass beatings of prisoners in Temnivska Correctional Colony No. 100

Human rights activists found no traces of mass beatings of prisoners in Temnivska Correctional Colony No. 100 (Kharkiv region).

This was reported to a UNIAN correspondent by the chairman of the board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Arkadii Bushchenko.

“None of the prisoners we spoke to told us anything about any events on 7 June,” declared A. Bushchenko. “Also, we did not hear any complaints about binding with wet towels. The prisoners expressed various complaints, but all of them were of an individual character; there was no mention of any mass beating of prisoners or mass use of torture,” he added.

According to A. Bushchenko, the human rights activists met with the prisoners who, according to preliminary information, were allegedly subjected to beatings in the colony head’s personal reception room. They managed to talk privately with four of the five prisoners. “Not all five wanted to talk to us. Some of the ‘refusers’ looked somewhat frightened, which leads to the thought that they do not want trouble with the administration, although it is difficult to make final conclusions about the reasons for the refusal,” A. Bushchenko stated.

As reported by UNIAN, on 9 June, the Vinnytsia Human Rights Group received a report that more than 60 people were in the isolation ward of Colony No. 100, and on 7 June, convicts Yu. Khovanskyi, Yu. Shelupet, R. Titov, and I. Halenishchev were subjected to torture. “Among the methods of torture used against the convicts are: beatings with hands and feet, wrapping the hands and feet in damp towels, which causes severe pain after the towels dry, ‘stretching’, ‘tying to a radiator with handcuffs’,” the report from the VHRG stated.