Report on the results of the monitoring visit to the State Institution ‘Sokyryany Correctional Colony No. 67’

13.05.2023 Serhiy Zuykov, Andriy Didenko, Oleksiy Yaroslavtsev

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The convicts reported that in the case regarding the mass beating of prisoners, which took place in the institution on 2 August last year, the investigation is effectively not taking place regarding any of the suspects.

On 14 April 2023, a monitoring group consisting of an assistant to the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Kostyantyn Kasay, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine Serhiy Zuykov, an assistant to the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a programme coordinator of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHU) Andriy Didenko, as well as a journalist from the Information Agency “Poryad z vamy” (“Beside You”) Oleksa Yaroslavtsev, conducted a preventative routine monitoring visit to the state institution “Sokyryany Correctional Colony No. 67”.

This year’s visit was carried out within the framework of the project “Reducing the suffering of prisoners in the context of the war in Ukraine”, funded by the government of Denmark in partnership with DIGNITY — The Danish Institute Against Torture. The purpose of the visit was to collect and analyse data on the observance of human rights in the penal institution and to make comparisons with the previous visit.

The previous visit took place on 6 November 2020.

The head of the institution is Colonel of the Internal Service Hennadiy Mykolayovych Martynyuk.

General Information

The State Institution “Sokyryany Correctional Colony” is a medium-security institution for holding men who have been convicted of grave and particularly grave crimes for the first time. The territory of the institution includes a maximum-security sector, a detention centre (arrest house), and a sector for the social rehabilitation of convicts.

The monitors visited: living quarters, cells for disciplinary punishment, the detention centre, the maximum-security sector, the bath and laundry complex, the canteen, and the medical unit.

The head of the institution accompanied the monitoring group.

According to the administration, there are 2.5 convicts per member of the colony staff. Two psychologists work at the institution. The cost of maintaining one convict per day is 97 hryvnias.

During the current year, 48 people have arrived at the institution. In 2022, one convict died.

110 people are employed, and 5 people are employed under an employment contract (agreement). The average salary in the current year is 1,950 hryvnias. There is a shop operating in the institution.

At the time of the visit, one convict was serving a disciplinary penalty in a punishment cell (kartser), and 2 more convicts were in the Disciplinary Isolation Cell (DIZO).

24 people are registered as HIV/AIDS positive. 17 people are registered as prone to suicide; 11 people as prone to self-harm; 7 as prone to escape, and 21 people as malicious violators of the detention regime.

During 2022–2023, no complaints were registered from convicts regarding inappropriate conditions of detention or the non-provision of medical care. The absence of complaints indicates that either the convicts’ complaints are not being sent, the convicts have not had their right to appeal the actions (inaction) of staff, conditions of detention, and the provision of medical care explained to them, or the convicts do not see the point in complaining.

18 people have disabilities: 7 people with group II and 11 people with group III.

In 2022, 110 people were released, 31 of whom were released on parole, and three people had their conditions of serving their sentence changed to milder ones. During the current year, 31 people have been released, 5 of them on parole.

During 2022, there were 5 ambulance calls registered; since the beginning of 2023, there have been 2 such cases.

According to the administration, during 2022, 2 cases of bodily injuries were recorded while in the institution. In the current year, one case of bodily injury while in the institution has been registered.

At the same time, during an urgent visit on 3 August 2022, an assistant to the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Yurchyshyn and a programme coordinator of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Andriy Didenko, documented a mass beating of prisoners that occurred on the territory of the colony on 2 August 2022 (more on this below).

During 2022, 16 long-term visits were granted, and 14 from the beginning of 2023.

During 2022, 74 short-term visits (through glass) were granted, as well as 9 contact visits (without glass). During the current year, 5 visits were granted through glass; 19 were contact visits.

Internet access is provided to convicts through 66 tablets, which they keep in their possession. In the current year, 444 telephone calls were made.

During the visit, the monitors inspected acts of prosecutorial response, journals, decrees, and other documents related to the operation of the institution.

Medical Unit

The head of Medical Unit No. 67 of the branch of the state institution “Health Care Centre of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine” in the Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions (hereinafter — the medical unit) is Anatoliy Petrovych Rusnak.

During the visit, the monitoring group inspected the premises of the medical unit without hindrance, familiarised themselves with the conditions for organising the provision of medical care to convicts, and had access to medical documentation.

The inpatient ward of the medical unit has 4 wards for somatic patients, designed for 5 beds, and 1 infectious disease isolation ward, designed for 2 beds.

According to the staffing schedule provided by the head of the medical unit, the following positions are filled:

head of the medical unit — 1 position;
therapist — 0.5 positions;
psychiatrist — 0.5 positions;
dentist — 0.5 positions;
radiologist — 0.5 positions;
X-ray technician — 0.5 positions;
laboratory technician — 0.5 positions;
paramedic — 4 positions;
dental nurse — 0.5 positions;
pharmacy assistant — 0.5 positions;
junior medical nurse — 0.5 positions.

The position of infectious disease specialist remains vacant — 0.5 positions.

Dispensary supervision is provided for:

tuberculosis patients (5.1) — 19 people;
those with mental disorders — 120 people;
HIV-infected — 24 (24 receive ART).

Also, 18 people with disabilities are registered. Of them, group II — 7 people; group III — 11 people.

On the day of the visit, 4 people were in the inpatient ward, of whom two reported suffering from ARVI (Acute Respiratory Viral Infection), 1 person had a pancreatic disease, and 1 person reported being in the inpatient ward in connection with the treatment of heart disease, while simultaneously performing the duties of a disinfector and cleaner.

During the monitoring visit, shortcomings in the work of Medical Unit No. 67 were identified, which lead to the violation of the rights of convicts in the SI “Sokyryany Correctional Colony (No. 67)”, in particular, the following.

Violation of the rights of convicts and prisoners to receive primary, secondary, and tertiary medical care

In accordance with the requirements of paragraph 7 of part 1 of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 27.12.2022 No. 1464 “Some issues of implementing the programme of state guarantees of medical services for the population in 2023”, the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) pays for medical services provided upon paper referrals to patients held in penal institutions or pre-trial detention centres of the State Penitentiary Service, until the creation of the technical capability by health care institutions of the State Penitentiary Service to issue electronic referrals is ensured. However, due to the lack of signed declarations with a primary care physician by the convicts and prisoners, they are unable to receive the necessary medical services funded by the NHSU, which leads to a violation of the requirements of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “Fundamentals of Ukrainian legislation on health care”.

Violation of the rights of convicts during preventive medical examinations

According to information provided by the head of the medical unit, 128 convicts have undergone a planned preventive medical examination. At the same time, in violation of paragraph 6 of Chapter III of Section II of the “Procedure for organising the provision of medical care to convicts sentenced to imprisonment”, approved by 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 (hereinafter — the Procedure), the “Journal of registration of results of passing a preventive medical examination”, the form of which is given in Annex 4 to the Procedure, has not been maintained since the end of 2021.

Violation of the prisoners’ right to information about their health status, treatment methods, and confidentiality regarding their health

During the inspection of the medical unit, the monitors recorded that 4 people were in the inpatient ward. Of these, two reported suffering from ARVI, 1 person from a pancreatic disease, and 1 person reported being in the inpatient ward in connection with the treatment of heart disease. During the examination of medical documentation, the monitors established that, in violation of Art. 43 of the Law of Ukraine “Fundamentals of Ukrainian legislation on health care”, these convicts did not provide consent to doctors for diagnosis and treatment. Namely: there are no signed forms of primary accounting documentation No. 003-6/o “Informed voluntary consent of the patient to the conduct of diagnosis, treatment, and for the conduct of surgery and anaesthesia and to the presence or participation of participants in the educational process”, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 14.02.2012 No. 110.

At the same time, in violation of the requirements of paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 of Chapter 5 of Section II of the “Procedure for organising the provision of medical care to convicts sentenced to imprisonment”, approved by 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, medical personnel did not record in the medical records of outpatient and inpatient patients the results of medical examinations by doctors, prescribed treatment, and the course of the disease, which excludes the possibility of prisoners obtaining information about the state of their health, as well as the possibility to examine the course of their disease and treatment. Namely, for persons in the inpatient ward, there are no medical conclusions of a doctor regarding the necessity of conducting an examination and/or treatment in inpatient conditions in the outpatient medical card No. 025/o, data on their arrival at the medical unit inpatient ward, which are entered into the Journal of registration of admission, discharge of convicts, and refusals of hospitalisation, and the medical card of an inpatient No. 003/o, which is opened for each convict, to which all data regarding treatment and diagnosis in the medical unit inpatient ward are entered, including those obtained during the examination of the sick convict, with a prescription sheet.

The head of the medical unit commented on these violations by stating that the patients receiving treatment were not in the medical unit at the time of the visit. Indeed, upon a repeated inspection of the wards in the medical unit, the patients with ARVI and the patient with the pancreatic disease were no longer there, except for one convict who could not determine on what grounds he was in the medical unit, claiming at the same time that he was a cleaner, and demonstrating the medicines he takes in connection with his heart disease. To the question: “Where is the patient who was receiving an intravenous drip injection?”, which the monitors captured in a photo, the medical staff could not provide an answer.

Non-compliance with infection control and epidemiological surveillance

In violation of the Measures and means for preventing infection during patient care, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 03.08.2020 No. 1777, the medical unit is equipped with only one isolation ward for infectious patients, which makes it impossible to simultaneously place patients with dangerous infectious diseases separately from one another and from other convicts.

Persons held in the medical unit are not fully provided with personal protective equipment; there is no strict control over compliance with the mask regime on the territory of the institution among prisoners; daily temperature screening of convicts is not carried out.

Violation of the right of prisoners and convicts to appropriate sanitary and hygienic conditions while in a health care facility

The premises of the medical unit do not meet the requirements of Article 22 of the Law of Ukraine “On ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population”. The walls in the medical unit premises have peeling paint in places, ceramic tiles are knocked off the wall panels, and there are old wooden windows and old wooden floors, which complicates the disinfection of these premises. The bathrooms in some wards require repair.

Convicts are not provided with drinking water. Tanks with drinking water are absent. The air temperature was 15.3 degrees C.

In violation of the requirements of the Standards of sufficiency of bedding, special clothing, and special footwear (inventory property) for convicts undergoing treatment in medical and prophylactic institutions, institutions with the status of medical ones, and in medical units at penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres, approved by the order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated 20.02.2012 No. 280/5, convicts do not receive hospital property (hospital suit, robe, and slippers). Convicts remain in the inpatient ward in their everyday clothes, with their own bedding.

In violation of the “State sanitary and anti-epidemic rules and norms regarding the handling of medical waste”, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 08.06.2015 No. 325, the branch of the SI “Health Care Centre of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine” in the Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions has not concluded an agreement with a specialised institution for the disposal of medical waste, in connection with which proper collection, sorting, and disposal of medical waste has not been organised in the medical unit since the beginning of 2023.

Violation of the rights of persons with disabilities (Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

Dispensary supervision is provided for 18 persons with disabilities. Of them, group II — 7 persons; group III — 11 persons. At the same time, in violation of the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in Ukraine”, persons with disabilities do not receive appropriate diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation measures in the presence of information confirming persistent impairment of body functions caused by diseases or the consequences of injuries that cause limitations in normal life activities. During the study of the medical documentation of the convicts, it was established that the recommendations of individual rehabilitation programmes are not being fulfilled, in connection with which they do not receive proper diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation measures, despite information confirming persistent impairment of body functions caused by diseases and the consequences of injuries that cause limitations in normal life activities.

In addition, in violation of the requirements of the State Building Norms of Ukraine V.2.2-17:2006 “Buildings and structures. Accessibility of buildings and structures for persons with limited mobility”, conditions for holding people with disabilities have not been created in the institution (there are no ramps, handrails, etc.).

Violation of the right of convicts to psychiatric care

Dispensary supervision in Medical Unit No. 67 of the branch of the state institution “Health Care Centre of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine” in the Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, and Ternopil regions is carried out for 120 persons with mental disorders. At the same time, in violation of paragraph 8, part 5, Chapter 2 of the Procedure for organising the provision of medical care to convicts sentenced to imprisonment, approved by 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, there is no isolation ward for persons with mental disorders in the inpatient ward for convicts who pose a danger to others.

Expired medical preparations

In violation of paragraph 2, paragraph 5 of Section I, paragraph 4, paragraph 5 of Section III, paragraph 1, paragraph 6 of Section IV of the Rules for storage and quality control of medicines in medical and prophylactic institutions, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 16.12.2003 No. 584, expired medicines were recorded in Medical Unit No. 67 of the branch of the state institution “Health Care Centre of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine” during the visit.

Violation of the rights of persons with viral hepatitis C

During 2023, 39 tests were carried out in the medical unit using rapid tests for the presence of viral hepatitis C, of which 8 people were suspected of having the disease.

In violation of the requirements of the Standards of medical care for HCV in adults, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 15.01.2021 No. 51, persons with suspected viral hepatitis C do not undergo PCR testing, in connection with which they do not receive the necessary treatment, which may lead to the deterioration of their health and the spread of said infectious disease among convicts and prisoners.

Violation of the right of convicts to appropriate dental care

In violation of the requirements of the Table of equipment for a single workplace of a dentist and dental technician, approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated 11.04.2005 No. 158, the medical unit lacks a dental X-ray machine, which makes it impossible to conduct an in-depth dental examination and does not ensure the timely provision of appropriate dental care to prisoners and convicts.

State response to the mass beating of convicts

On 2 August 2022, a mass beating of convicts by the special unit “KORD” took place. During an urgent visit to the colony on 3 August 2022 by an assistant to the People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Yurchyshyn and the coordinator of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group programmes, Andriy Didenko, about 22 people with bodily injuries were documented. Lawyers appealed to the competent authorities; criminal proceedings were opened by the prosecutor’s office and the State Bureau of Investigation.

During the visit, the monitors spoke with the convicts who had sustained bodily injuries. The interviewed convicts reported that the beatings were recorded, the data on the beatings were documented, but the investigation is effectively not taking place regarding any of the perpetrators.

In the statistical data completed by the institution’s management for 2022, bodily injuries of prisoners caused during the mass beating are also not mentioned.

Maximum-security sector

The visit took place during lunch.

Convict V. asked a question regarding his release. Before imprisonment, he lived in the temporarily occupied territory, has no relatives and no place to go after his release, and also has no funds.