Lawlessness in Lviv Detention Centre: A Lieutenant Colonel Beat Me Against the Wall

For abuse of authority, exceeding official powers, forgery and negligence, 51-year-old former head of Lviv detention centre No. 19, Vasily Romanishin, was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment with a one-year suspension of execution. A most lenient sentence for a degenerate in uniform who, from flagrant impunity, had lost all sense of reality.

That there was arbitrary rule in Lviv's detention centre was said long ago. But public scandal broke when 66 workers at the centre submitted two collective petitions to the leadership of the State Department for the Implementation of Sentences, in which they reported "unlawful actions of Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Romanishin of the internal service, his use of physical force, the humiliations and vulgar insults with which he subjected his subordinates, even in the presence of prisoners." Complaints were also made about financial and disciplinary abuses.

"The head of the detention centre called the detention centre his 'farm,' claimed that on its territory he could do whatever he pleased, and considered the people working here to be his slaves," complained the officers of the internal service. As usual in such cases, an inspection commission was sent to the centre, which conducted a check and gave the lieutenant colonel… a reprimand. However, the officers insist that no inspection was carried out at all, and no one from the Department spoke with them.

Possibly, this scandal might have died down, but then a new emergency occurred at the centre. Judges ordered one prisoner released, and instead they let go his… namesake. None of the centre's managers or staff noticed that the released man had a different patronymic, birthplace and year of birth. The mistake was discovered only a day later. Somehow, the illegally released man was found and returned to his cell. The matter became public. The prosecutor's office began investigating. And what investigators heard from the centre's staff shocked them…

"Romanishin shouted: 'There is no justice here and there never will be!'"
"One time Romanishin saw that one of the prisoners was not dressed according to regulations," relates Andrei Protz, head of the social and psychological services section, senior lieutenant of the internal service. "In the presence of other officers and prisoners, the lieutenant colonel began to curse foully, insulting me and my family. I reminded him that the prisoner's clothing corresponded to his orders, and asked him to stop the insults."

"Then he hit me in the face with his fist several times, grabbed me by the throat and began to bash my head against the wall. I pushed him away and shouted that I was going to the prosecutor. But Romanishin ordered the duty officer at the checkpoint not to let me out. Three hours later the head summoned me to his office and said: 'Do not tell anyone about this. Otherwise, I will frame you and your brother Yuri (he also works at the centre) and you will both lose your jobs.' And soon he tried to carry out his threat."

"A few days later he summoned me again: 'Write an explanation of why you came to work drunk.' I could not take it – I went to a drug testing clinic and brought back an official certificate showing no alcohol in my blood. Romanishin was furious: 'I will ruin you anyway!' The persecution continued. Those of us who had signed the complaint against Romanishin, and I myself, were denied promotions, our allowances were cut, material assistance was not provided, and disciplinary measures were imposed."

"I submitted two reports to higher command, but there was no response. They did not even react to reports that at checkpoint No. 15, centre staff, wearing masks, constantly beat prisoners. I refused to beat people with a rubber baton simply because they would not obey Romanishin's order to move in single file: crouch down, put your hands behind your head and move that way…"

"After night shifts, Romanishin forbade us to rest, instead ordering us to conduct searches of the prisoners and perform various maintenance work," recalls Pyotr Kordek, inspector of the social and psychological services section, captain of the internal service. "I publicly objected to this in the presence of my colleagues. I also mentioned the wage deductions and financial violations. The head of the centre met me in the corridor, pinned me against the wall, began cursing foully, striking me in the face and body. A couple of hours later, he beat me again in the office of the operational staff. At the same time, he shouted: 'There is no justice here and there never will be!' After such 'educational' work, I was in treatment for almost a month. Later, I was transferred from the centre to a colony in a lower position with much reduced pay…"

"The head of the centre often bullied junior inspectors, warrant officers and sergeants, beat them, cursed at them, could arbitrarily keep them on the premises for days without letting them leave," adds Yuri Protz, lieutenant of the internal service. "I remember how Romanishin forcibly gave one junior inspector a close shave, tore off his insignia and forced him to live in the detention centre for several days. There were many instances of degradation, but frightened subordinates remained silent, fearing job loss."

The head's favourite "entertainment" was savage beating of prisoners by a group of centre staff. And then documents were drawn up claiming that prisoners had obstructed searches. We had operational information that Romanishin was receiving money from lawyers and relatives of prisoners in exchange for "normal" conditions in the centre. For payment, he organised illegal visits with the accused, deliveries of forbidden items to them, and even secret trips outside the centre for those under investigation.

"I had long been in conflict with Romanishin over these issues," confirms Oleg Vovk, senior operative of the operational department, major of the internal service. "But he just shouted: 'Mind your own business!' And to keep subordinates silent, he personally regulated allowances to salaries, bonuses and material assistance…"

"Female prisoners worked 15 hours a day, including Saturdays and Sundays"

"Female prisoners worked in sewing shops and workshops not for two to four hours, as indicated in the time sheets, but for the entire day," relates Liliya Suprun, junior inspector of the regime and security department. "For the extra hours they were, of course, not paid. Women often worked from nine in the morning until midnight, including Saturday and Sunday. Romanishin treated them with great cruelty. Once he saw that gloves, which we sew, were poorly folded. He began cursing foully, hitting the women in the face, forcing them to move in single file. One time a male prisoner refused to move in this manner, explaining that he was seriously ill. Then Romanishin kicked him in the stomach, and when the prisoner bent over in pain, struck him in the head as well. And then he beat this man for a long time with feet and fists until he was bleeding…"

Female workers of the centre spoke of sexual harassment by Vasily Romanishin.

"The head could ask: 'What underwear are you wearing today?' recalls Natalya Lugavaya, doctor of the medical unit. "Or: 'I can do THAT better than your husband'…"

Investigators gathered increasingly more information about abuses at the centre: document forgery, financial violations, prisoners were fed spoiled food…

The criminal case against Romanishin was opened and closed repeatedly. Then the suspect spent a long time in hospital and the investigation, in effect, stalled. However, the Lviv regional prosecutor's office still brought the case to trial.

At trial, the defendant claimed that all accusations against him were slander. He said he was being discredited so he could not assume the position of head of the regional office of the State Department for the Implementation of Sentences. Romanishin admitted that there were occasions when he spoke to subordinates in rather crude language, for which he received a disciplinary reprimand, but denied using physical force.

Nevertheless, the Halychyna district court of Lviv found Vasily Romanishin guilty and sentenced him to three and a half years imprisonment with a one-year suspension of execution. The defendant disagreed with this verdict and filed an appeal. However, the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.

"It is certainly difficult to maintain discipline and order in a detention centre where, on average, about 1,300 prisoners, remand prisoners, and those in transit are held," comments the situation the new head of the regional office of the State Department for the Implementation of Sentences, Major General Mikhail Dzyudz of the internal service.

"However, resolving a conflict through physical force is inadmissible. A few years ago, the criminal executive service was full of outrages. Criminal cases were opened regarding sugar and meat products, which were not supplied to the prisoners' menu at all, concerning expired tinned goods. We are talking about millions of hryvnias! It is surprising that there were no prisoner uprisings."

"Such violations are now simply impossible. The new leadership of our Department (Alexander Lisitskov was recently appointed as head) must dismantle the entire old system. Staff salaries have been raised by a third, and normal working conditions are being created. Just recently, a psychological support service was introduced for them. For the first time in the years of independence, a 53-flat residential building was built for internal service employees (in Sambir, Lviv region). In short, certain conclusions have been drawn from the unpleasant Lviv detention centre affair. Recently, leaders of the State Department, the Ombudsperson for Human Rights Nina Karpacheva, visited us; they met both with internal service staff and with prisoners. There were no serious complaints against us…"

As reported by the press office of the Lviv regional prosecutor's office, as a result of inspections, 12 employees of the criminal executive service were brought to disciplinary responsibility, measures were developed aimed at improving the work of the institutions implementing sentences and Lviv detention centre.