Kaluga Ombudsman checked how human rights are observed in places of detention

On 2 April 2010, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kaluga Region, Yuriy Zelnikov, visited the correctional institution IK-3, located in the settlement of Tovarkovo, Dzerzhinsky District, at the request of Kaluga human rights activists.

The Ombudsman familiarized himself with the conditions of serving sentences by convicts in the SUSN (strict conditions section) and SHIZO (punishment cell) of IK-3, as well as with their material and living conditions.

A personal reception of citizens serving sentences in strict conditions and in the punishment cell of the correctional institution was held. The convicts were interested in issues of proper conditions of detention in places of deprivation of liberty, issues of timely and high-quality provision of medical care, and disagreement with court verdicts. Answers were given to all questions asked.

After this, the Ombudsman conducted a personal reception of citizens serving sentences in IK-3. The questions asked to the Ombudsman mainly concerned complaints about court verdicts, refusals of courts to grant parole, and personal questions were also asked.

At the end of the reception of citizens, the Kaluga Ombudsman, together with the management of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Kaluga Region and the administration of the institution, discussed the shortcomings identified during the visit. The administration of the institution was proposed to strictly comply with the requirements of criminal-executive legislation and the internal rules of correctional institutions concerning human rights.