The ‘Disorder’ of Prison Visits by Journalists

During the organisation of journalist visits to penal institutions, I have almost always heard warnings from representatives of the Penitentiary Service: if a journalist from a national (all-Ukrainian) publication intends to visit an institution, permission must be obtained ‘in Kyiv’. For a visit by a journalist from a local (regional) media outlet, permission from the management of the territorial body of the Penitentiary Service is sufficient. In this regard, local heads of SPSU bodies have always refused visits to colonies by journalists from national media if they did not have permission ‘from Kyiv’.
In reality, no such procedure for obtaining permission to visit penal institutions for journalists from national media outlets exists. Any journalist, or indeed any citizen, could have verified this if they had submitted a relevant request to the SPSU.
That is exactly what ‘Donetsk Memorial’ did, and we received the following response:
‘At present, there is no regulatory act that determines the procedure for visiting penal institutions by representatives of the media. The granting of permission to visit penal institutions is carried out in the manner determined by the second part of Article 24 of the Criminal-Executive Code of Ukraine, according to which representatives of the media and other persons may visit them with the special permission of the administration of these institutions or the management bodies of the said institutions’ (Letter No. 2/2/1-1084-Sd/ 2-13 dated 21.02.2012).
Consequently, even the head of any individual institution has the authority to grant (or deny) permission for a visit to their institution. Other approvals for such access are purely their choice and initiative, and they must resolve such issues independently, within the department. It is their concern whether to consult with the leadership of the regional Penitentiary Service administration or with the leadership of the central agency. The requirement for journalists to themselves coordinate permission to visit an institution—either with the regional Penitentiary Service administration or with the central agency’s leadership—is unlawful, simply because it is not provided for by law.