Released Persons on Prisons in the ATO Zone

In November 2014, the human rights organisation ‘Donetsk Memorial’ conducted a survey of persons released from places of deprivation of liberty. Twelve people were surveyed anonymously regarding the current situation in correctional facilities. The survey took place in Donetsk. Its results are as follows:

All 12 respondents were released in 2014: one in March, one each in May, June, and September, six in October, and two in November.
Almost all of them served their sentences in institutions in the Donetsk region: three in penal colony (VK) No. 124, Donetsk; two each in VK-28, Torez, and VK-97, Makiivka. One person each was held in the Artemivsk pre-trial detention centre, the Donetsk pre-trial detention centre, Selidove VK-82 in the village of Hostre, and an institution in Horlivka; one person was from VK-45 in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
To the question ‘How has the staff’s attitude towards convicts changed since the beginning of hostilities in the Donbas?’, all respondents replied that no changes had occurred.

To the question ‘What has changed for the better in the staff’s attitude towards convicts during this period?’, eleven noted no changes at all, and one did not answer the question.

To the question ‘What has changed for the worse in the staff’s attitude towards convicts during this period?’, ten noted no changes; only one remarked that staff had become more brutal, and one did not answer the question.

Regarding changes in the convicts’ diet, five noted no changes, including both respondents from VK-97, Makiivka; another five noted that the diet had deteriorated and the food was ‘meagre’; two replied succinctly: ‘There is food.’

Unanimously, none of the respondents noted any changes in the provision of medical services to convicts, although one added that the number of medical personnel had decreased.

Only five saw no changes in the operation of the kiosks in the colonies, although three of them had been released back in the spring. Seven noted a deterioration in the product range and price increases.

Regarding visits, five respondents replied that they had no relatives, six others said that no one visited them (without explaining whether they had relatives at all), and one noted that there had been no changes regarding visits for him.

Seven respondents had not witnessed shelling of their institutions, but five had witnessed shelling.
When asked how the institution’s staff spoke about the actions of the militants, ten people refused to answer, one replied ‘in no way’, and another said they ‘did not know’.

Eleven respondents denied any real threat to their lives while staying in the colony, although one from VK-124, Donetsk, did note that he could have been hit by a stray bullet or a shell could have exploded nearby.

To the question ‘Are you prepared to join the DNR militia?’, three cited health issues and disability, four answered that they were not prepared, one had no desire to, and one had not yet decided. At the same time, one is already a fighter in the ‘Vostok’ battalion, and another is prepared to join if paid. One person chose not to answer this question.
Eleven respondents do not know if militants visited their institution, or at least they did not see them. Conversely, one respondent from the same VK-124 noted that they had visited to acquaint themselves with the situation. This same respondent is the one prepared to join the militia if paid.