Visit to the State Institution “Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution (No. 1)”
On 11 October 2022, Andrii Didenko, assistant to the People's Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Yurchyshyn and coordinator of KHPG programmes, paid an unannounced visit to the State Institution “Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution (No. 1)”.
Andrii Didenko had the opportunity to visit any of the institution's premises, communicate with convicts, including under conditions of confidentiality, gather information, verify it, and obtain access to relevant documents. Andrii Didenko was accompanied by the Deputy Head of the institution for socio-educational and psychological work, Lieutenant Colonel of the internal service Ihor Oleksiiovych Kotsiak.
During the visit, Andrii Didenko spoke confidentially with inmates serving life sentences. He interviewed lifers who had been anonymously interviewed during previous visits and who believe they received an overly harsh sentence or claimed that they did not commit the crime.
Andrii Didenko also visited V. Panasenko, an inmate serving a life sentence who suffers from a severe form of respiratory disease and who had been refused release from serving further punishment due to illness by the court.
During their conversation with Andrii Didenko, inmates serving life sentences at the Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution (No. 1) complained about the lack of any prospect of release from life imprisonment and the absence of a mechanism for reviewing final court judgements to rectify judicial errors.
Prospects for release from life imprisonment
On 18 October 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and in its entirety two draft laws that provide for the possibility of replacing life imprisonment with a more lenient sentence, as well as the possibility of parole for persons sentenced to life imprisonment (draft laws No. 4048 and 4049).
Mechanism for reviewing final court judgements to rectify judicial errors
In 2010, during the implementation of the so-called “small judicial reform”, the Supreme Court of Ukraine was stripped of its authority to review criminal cases under exceptional proceedings. Since then, there has been no real legal procedure in Ukraine through which one can apply to a court in the event of gross violations of human rights during pre-trial or judicial investigations.
In July 2021, a public discussion took place involving legal experts and religious figures, during which a number of legal solutions to the problems faced by the wrongfully convicted were proposed, including:
- Improvement of the mechanism for granting pardons by the President of Ukraine.
- Expansion of the powers of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights to respond to violations of the right to a fair trial and to increase the level of protection of the rights and freedoms of convicts, which were violated during pre-trial or judicial proceedings.
- Restoring the Supreme Court's right to review final court judgements based on exceptional circumstances—on the grounds of substantial violations of criminal procedural law requirements or the incorrect application of criminal law.
- Adoption of Draft Law No. 5747 “On amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine regarding the provision of the right to appeal a verdict for persons sentenced to life imprisonment”.
However, the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has necessitated adjustments to both the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the activities of other state bodies and institutions.
Conditions of imprisonment at the Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution (No. 1) do not meet modern requirements and violate human rights — ECHR rulings
During the visit, Andrii Didenko learned that at the end of September 2022, the European Court of Human Rights had considered several applications against Ukraine and established violations provided for by Articles 3 and 13 of the ECHR. Specifically, DRAZHNYK AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE, ATENTYEV AND OTHERS v. UKRAINE, etc.
The violations were established due to: overcrowding, poor food quality, lack of fresh air, the absence or inadequacy of sanitary facilities, the absence or inadequacy of electrical lighting, the absence or inadequacy of natural light, the lack of privacy in toilets, the absence of or limited access to showers, and passive smoking.
6 applicants were held in the State Institution “Vinnytsia Penitentiary Institution (No. 1)”.
The funding of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine has in recent years been provided at a level not exceeding 45% of the total requirement. Under such circumstances, inadequate conditions for the detention of convicts and prisoners, as well as their medical and logistical support, prompt applications to the European Court of Human Rights, which in turn leads to additional state expenditure on compensation payments and contributes to the formation of a negative image of Ukraine in the international community.