Monitoring visit to the State Institution “Ladyzhyn Correctional Colony (No. 39)”
On 25 July 2022, a monitoring group consisting of an assistant to a People's Deputy of Ukraine, Kostiantyn Kasai; a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Serhiy Zuikov; an assistant to a People's Deputy of Ukraine, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn; Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) programme coordinator Andriy Didenko; and journalist for the “Poriad z vamy” (Alongside You) News Agency, Oleksa Yaroslavtsev, visited the state institution “Ladyzhyn Correctional Colony (No. 39)”.
The previous visit by KHPG monitors is available at this link.
The main objectives of the monitoring visit were to compare the figures from the previous visit with current ones, analyse the institution’s operation during the war, and ascertain the humanitarian needs of the facility.
The monitors had the opportunity to visit any premises, communicate with prisoners, including on the condition of anonymity, collect and verify information, and obtain access to relevant materials.
The head of the institution is Colonel of the Internal Service Yuriy Hryhorovych Somyk. The monitors were accompanied by the head of the institution and the deputy head, Serhiy Volodymyrovych Punko.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Ladyzhyn Correctional Colony (No. 39) is a maximum-security penal institution for the detention of persons convicted of particularly grave crimes or who have previously served sentences in places of deprivation of liberty multiple times.
The institution’s premises include sections for the detention of life-sentenced prisoners of both open and closed types. The personnel-to-convict ratio is 6 staff members per ten convicts.
There are 9 residential units on the territory of the institution.
During the current year, 49 convicts arrived at the institution; there was 1 death in 2021 and 1 in 2022; 48 people were employed, 5 of whom were under employment contracts. According to the administration, average monthly earnings amount to 1,442.11 hryvnias.
There is a shop operating in the institution.
At the time of the monitoring, 1 convict was in the disciplinary isolation cell (DIZO), and none were in the cell-type premises (PKT).
One convict was in the medical unit of the Health Care Centre of the State Criminal-Executive Service (HC-SCES) on the institution’s premises.
23 people are registered as HIV/AIDS positive; 33 are registered as prone to suicide; 28 are registered as prone to self-harm. 7 people are prone to escape. 42 people are registered as malicious violators of the detention regime.
In 2021 and 2022, no one was released due to health conditions; during the 2021–2022 period, there was not a single complaint recorded from convicts regarding inadequate conditions of detention or inadequate provision of medical care. 13 people in the colony have a disability.
In 2021, 33 people were released, and 16 were released in 2022; no one was released on parole or transferred to more lenient conditions of detention.
An ambulance was called 6 times in 2021, and there have been 5 calls since the beginning of 2022.
In 2021, 7 cases of bodily injury were recorded, all of which occurred while in the institution. In 2022, there were 3 such cases, all while in the institution. Also, this year, special means were used against convicts 3 times.
8 long-term visits took place in 2021, and 4 in 2022.
There were 31 short-term visits in 2021, and 7 in 2022.
46 visits took place using the Internet.
There are 3 workstations available with Internet access for distance learning. The cost of using the Internet is 11 hryvnias per hour.
In 2021, 49 people used the Internet by concluding an appropriate agreement and purchasing a tablet; in 2022, 70 convicts did so.
In the current year, 626 people were tested for SARS-CoV (IgG, IgM), 55 people recovered from the illness, and 153 convicts were vaccinated.
According to the administration, more than 80 percent of convicts submitted petitions for release and entry into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The administration supported 1 petition, and 1 convict was released.
During the monitoring visit, the administration facilitated the work of the monitors, and there were no restrictions on access to the premises of the correctional colony. The monitors also had access to the convicts’ logs and documents. The representatives of the administration behaved correctly. The administration treats the convicts in a correct and humane manner.
The institution’s management holds personal intake sessions for convicts once a week.
During an air raid siren, a warning signal sounds throughout the institution’s territory. Convicts are provided with instructions on how to behave during an actual threat. Some of the prisoners are moved to the bathhouse premises, which serve as the simplest form of shelter, while others remain on the ground floors of the buildings.
There is no specially equipped bomb shelter in the institution.
When discussing problems, the management noted that the institution lacks personnel. The paltry salary, in particular, does not provide motivation for working in a penitentiary institution.
It was also noted that there has been a decrease in the number of administrative offences committed by convicts since the start of the war.
RESIDENTIAL PREMISES
Convicts who work in production and those who are unemployed live in the same conditions and in the same units.
The rooms are of a cubicle system.
Rooms for eating:
Telephone calls are made using a general card that has an unlimited contract. And, according to the administration, any convict, even one who has no funds, can call their relatives.
Convict Ivan Hryhorovych approached the monitors. He complained that he cannot call the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights representative because money is being deducted from his pension. The convict claims that such actions are illegal. He also claims that he never has any money on his phone account. The head of the colony reported that this convict had applied to the State Bureau of Investigation and the prosecutor’s office, and a criminal proceeding had been opened by the competent authorities.
Convicts drying gathered apricots:
Convict V. expressed a desire to speak on condition of anonymity. He complained that he works and leads a socially useful life but receives no incentives, and because of this, he cannot take advantage of benefits.
MEDICAL UNIT
The head of Medical Unit No. 39 of the branch of the state institution “Health Care Centre of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine” in the Vinnytsia region (hereinafter – the medical unit) is Oleksandr Petrovych Melnyk.
On the day of the visit, 1 person with a diagnosis of osteochondrosis was in the medical unit’s infirmary.
During the current year, 624 people applied to the medical unit, of whom 46 were treated in the infirmary, 578 as outpatients, and 0 for a tuberculosis diagnosis. The number of outpatients includes everyone who was provided with any assistance (services), including vaccinations.
In the current year, 203 people underwent a preventive medical examination.
The medical unit includes:
- an infirmary, designed with 2 wards with 2 and 3 beds for patients with general somatic diseases and 3 wards with 8 beds for infectious patients.
- an outpatient department: the head of the medical unit’s office, a procedure room, an X-ray room, and a general-purpose room – for the family doctor.
On the day of the visit, the following positions were staffed in the medical unit: head of the medical unit – 1 position; general practitioner (family doctor) – 1 position; dentist – 1 position; paramedic – 4 positions; pharmacy assistant – 1 position; nurse – 1 position; junior nurse – 0.5 position.
The positions of radiologist (0.5 position) and X-ray technician (0.5 position) remain unstaffed.
The staffing table does not provide for the positions of psychiatrist, infectious disease specialist, or epidemiologist. An infectious disease specialist is brought in from Multidisciplinary Hospital No. 81 of the branch of the State Institution “HC SCES of Ukraine” in the Vinnytsia region. A psychiatrist is brought in from the Trostianets Central District Hospital at the expense of the HC SCES branch.
The number of mentally ill persons registered is 7. At the same time, in violation of clause 8 of clause 5 of Chapter 2 of the Procedure, there is no isolation ward in the infirmary for individuals with mental disorders for convicts who pose a danger to others.
In order to detect and prevent the spread of infectious and parasitic diseases, and to detect general somatic and mental diseases among convicts, a preventive medical examination is conducted in the penal institution once a year.
At the same time, the staffing schedule does not provide for the positions of psychiatrist, infectious disease specialist, addiction psychiatrist, phthisiatrician, therapist, or epidemiologist, which indicates a long-term inability to provide consultations to convicts and conduct initial and full preventive examinations.
Thus, in violation of Chapter 2 of the Procedure, the preventive medical examination is not carried out in full.
Psychiatric care in the medical facility is provided inadequately. Specifically, the psychiatrist visits the institution only upon request (demand). Meanwhile, on the day of the visit, 7 convicts were under the supervision of a psychiatrist.
Thus, the absence of a psychiatrist indicates a lack of medical care for various mental illnesses while mentally ill persons are held at Ladyzhyn Correctional Colony No. 39, which creates an unsafe environment among the convicts and puts the institution’s staff at risk.
191 people were tested for HIV infection using rapid tests. 23 HIV-infected persons are registered (all 23 are receiving ART). During the current year, 23 immunological examinations (CD-4) and 23 virological (viral load) tests were conducted.
The staffing table does not provide for an infectious disease specialist. An infectious disease specialist is brought in from Multidisciplinary Hospital No. 81 of the branch of the State Institution “HC SCES of Ukraine” in the Vinnytsia region. Furthermore, there is no appointment schedule for the infectious disease specialist.
It is worth noting that the infectious disease isolation ward is not equipped with a shower room. Thus, sick convicts are deprived of the right to maintain hygiene, or their washing must take place in the general showers. As a result, the principle of isolating patients with infectious diseases is not observed.
Some mattresses and pillows need replacement; the windows and floors are wooden.
The medical unit is not provided with working fluorography/X-ray equipment.
Sputum microscopy is not performed in the institution due to the lack of a laboratory, so samples are sent to the laboratory in Penal Institution No. 1. Therefore, due to the lack of a clinical diagnostic laboratory in the medical unit, initial sputum testing is not carried out.
In addition, there is no properly equipped sputum collection point in the medical unit, which creates prerequisites for the spread of infectious diseases among the detained convicts and also violates the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 01.02.2019 No. 287 “On Approval of the Standard of Infection Control for Health Care Institutions Providing Care to Patients with Tuberculosis”.
During the current year, 3 cases of bodily injury were registered. At the same time, the outpatient medical records (form 025/o) lack attachments in the form of photographs of existing bodily injuries, as provided for in clause 3 of section 1, Chapter II of the joint Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 15.08.2014 No. 1348/5/572 “On Approval of the Procedure for Organising the Provision of Medical Care to Persons Sentenced to Deprivation of Liberty”.
In the general bathhouse, the room for the medical worker required for conducting examinations of convicts is inadequately equipped. Medical examinations are conducted in the presence of other convicts.
The showers are not equipped with curtains, which makes it impossible for convicts to exercise their right to privacy during hygiene procedures.
There is no doctor’s office in the DIZO/PKT and high-security premises.
In the medical unit, round-the-clock duty of medical staff is provided to render emergency medical care and ensure convicts have access to medicinal products.
During the visit, the monitoring group inspected the premises of the medical unit without hindrance and familiarised itself with the conditions of organising the provision of medical care to prisoners. During communication, no complaints were received from convicts regarding unlawful actions by medical personnel and institution staff, including torture, or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
The medical unit’s equipment is outdated, non-functional, and is not being updated. The medical wards for treating sick convicts require renovation.
DIZO/PKT/DPK
There are 4 DIZO cells and 4 PKT cells operating in the institution.
One convict was in the DIZO, none in the PKT.
Convict P. received 14 days in the DIZO for brewing moonshine.
The beds in the DIZO were locked during the day.
The institution’s administration believes that locking beds during the day is a legislative norm. Clarification from the penitentiary service management regarding the locking of beds in DIZO and PKT cells:
The premises are in satisfactory condition. Some rooms are undergoing renovation using funds from the special fund.
Some cells have already been renovated: they have plastic windows, access to ventilation, and drinking water tanks.
The exercise yards are equipped with sports equipment.
6 convicts were in the DPK. Persons in the DPK remain in the cell for a year or more. The convicts do not know what criteria are used to hold them in the DPK cells.
A convict complained about not being provided with medical care: he asked the paramedic for painkillers due to stomach pain but instead received some vitamins. However, the convict had not tried to apply for medical care in writing and had not attempted to appeal the denial of medical care, as he does not believe in the effectiveness of written appeals.
LIFE-SENTENCED CONVICTS
In total, there are 80 life-sentenced convicts in the institution, 10 of whom are in the improved detention conditions section.
SECTION WITH IMPROVED CONDITIONS FOR LIFE-SENTENCED PRISONERS
The premises are clean and tidy.
Workshop. They are sewing chest rigs for the army. More than a thousand units have been produced. Everything requested by the military is made from their own material.
Room for eating:
Hygiene room:
There is a washing machine available.
Psychological relief room:
Medical worker’s room:
All renovation work is carried out using funds from the special fund.
CELLS FOR THE DETENTION OF LIFE-SENTENCED CONVICTS
36 cells for the detention of life-sentenced convicts.
Internet access for life-sentenced persons is on general terms.
There are a great many questions from life-sentenced convicts as to why they are not being taken to fight. Almost all life-sentenced convicts have written petitions for pardon in order to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Convict P. appealed with a question about the illegality of his detention. He has been imprisoned for about 27 years and believes that life imprisonment was imposed illegally because, when he was sentenced, the supreme measure provided for execution by firing squad. According to him, this term, after the “supreme measure” was replaced, should have been 15 years of deprivation of liberty.
The convict complained that transfers of funds take a long time: this can take several months.
Convict Z. complained that he cannot process a Group 2 disability because he is missing a leg above the knee, despite having been assigned a Group 3 disability.
QUARANTINE
On the day of the visit, there was not a single convict in the Quarantine section.
According to the administration, mainly people returning from the hospital are kept in this section. There are very few new arrivals.
Legal literature is available in the educational room. In the room for eating, there is a refrigerator, a microwave oven, and a tank with drinking water.
Despite there being no convicts in the quarantine section, a duty orderly resides on the premises.
BATHHOUSE
The bathhouse is located in the basement. During an air raid siren, the entire bathhouse area is used as the simplest form of shelter, which is indicated on the sign at the entrance.
There are no curtains in the shower stalls.
Barbershop:
The paramedic’s corner is fenced off.
Washing machines, new and old:
Dryer in the room.
Outdoors in the summer, there is no provision for laundry drying. A renovation is planned for the drying room by the end of the year.
One convict works in the bathhouse maintenance.
DINING HALL
The hall is renovated and in a tidy condition.
One table stands apart.
12 people are on a dietary regimen.
There are fish, meat, vegetable, and cooking (pictured) workshops.
The institution has its own bakery. Bread is baked over wood fires.
Shower, sink for dining hall staff:
There is a plot for growing vegetables.
INDUSTRIAL ZONE
All convicts involved in production work under civil law contracts. The salary depends on output. The wood workshop produces firewood for kindling in nets. An entrepreneur provides the wood, which the convicts process, sort into nets, and prepare for transport.
Due to the war, production volume has decreased significantly.
HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
The institution has an urgent need to re-equip the existing well with modern pumps for extracting drinking water. According to documents, the well should provide about one and a half tonnes of water per day.