The Prosecution Service states that the special forces acted lawfully in the Dnipropetrovsk penal colony

The Prosecution Service assesses the actions of the special unit officers in the Dnipropetrovsk correctional colony as lawful.
As the media relations department of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine informed UNIAN, on 5 July, in accordance with the work plan of the Dnipropetrovsk correctional colony (No. 89) and with the approval of the regional administration's management, planned mass searches of convicts and institutional facilities were conducted. The main purpose of the search was to detect and seize items and objects prohibited for use by convicts.

The Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office and the Dnipropetrovsk City Prosecutor for the supervision of compliance with laws in the execution of judicial decisions in criminal cases were informed about the conduct of this measure in the prescribed manner. All facilities of the institution, as well as the personal belongings of all convicts, were subjected to the search simultaneously. An additional number of staff from other institutions and from the inter-regional special purpose unit were involved in the search.

During the search, special equipment was not used against the convicts. Following the completion of the searches in the institution, reports were drawn up regarding the discovery and seizure of prohibited items. On 6 July, no convicts sought medical assistance at the institution's medical unit.

During the search, convicts were received regarding personal matters (82 individuals).

The State Penitentiary Service also noted that during the search, a mobile phone was discovered and seized from one of the convicts (who was being held in the maximum-security unit) using an individual search device.

The department noted that the conditions of maximum security house: those sentenced to life imprisonment; those convicted of intentionally committing an especially grave crime; those who committed an especially grave crime while serving a criminal sentence; those recognized as malicious violators of the requirements of the criminal sentence serving regime; and those who show disobedience to the requirements of the correctional institution's administration.

Following the seizure of the phone, convicts in the maximum-security unit began to express various kinds of dissatisfaction to the institution's administration in protest and wrote statements refusing to consume food (26 individuals), the report says.

The primary reason for such a decision was a protest against the actions of the institution's staff regarding the conduct of a general search and a desire to speak with the prosecutor.

The prosecutor for the supervision of compliance with laws in the execution of judicial decisions in criminal cases was informed of these statements from the convicts; on 6–7 July, he carried out an assessment of the institution's staff actions and also held a reception for convicts regarding personal matters. At the same time, a forensic medical expert was invited to the institution for those convicts who wished to undergo a medical examination.

On 9 July, a briefing was held by the head of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Colonel of the Internal Service Anatoliy Babets, regarding this matter. Representatives of central and regional television and radio companies, including “1+1”, “34 Channel”, “51 Channel”, “11 Channel”, and “9 Channel”, participated in the briefing and received answers to their questions. The most frequent questions concerned the conditions of serving sentences for convicts in the maximum-security sector.

During 9–11 July, the convicts who were refusing to eat repeatedly changed their complaints regarding the institution's staff. Based on the information provided, a corresponding investigation was conducted. For the most part, it did not find confirmation.

As of 11 July, all convicts at the Dnipropetrovsk correctional colony (No. 89) are eating, the State Penitentiary Service notes.

On 12 July, at a press conference at UNIAN, human rights defenders claimed that prisoners of Dnipropetrovsk colony No. 89 had been beaten by special forces.

According to human rights defender Ihor Harkavenko, prisoners of this colony complained about poor conditions of detention, in particular, a lack of fresh air and the non-receipt of an adequate amount of food and water. After these complaints, according to him, on 5 July, on the order of the administration, a company of special forces was brought into the colony. The prisoners sustained serious bodily injuries.

The human rights defender said that in protest, the prisoners declared a hunger strike, which is still ongoing.

According to Harkavenko, to the inquiries of human rights defenders, representatives of the Department for the Execution of Sentences denied the fact of the prisoners being beaten. He added that several representatives of human rights organizations were granted permission to visit the colony, but after they arrived on site, the head of this institution, according to Harkavenko, hid from the human rights defenders, avoiding communication with them.

Human rights defender Volodymyr Chemerys added that the use of special police units in places of imprisonment is currently prohibited, but despite this, according to information available to human rights defenders, it remains a common practice. He said that as a result of the beating at the Dnipropetrovsk colony, 15 prisoners were injured.