Human defenders , lawyers and members of Public Monitoring Committee visiting penitentiaries face human rights violations very often only because of prison servants don’t know well laws, regulations and standards, also international responsibilities of our country in human rights field. As a rule we need to explain laws, rights and duties which convicts possesses. Human defenders have to take piles of papers, literature and court decisions of Supreme court in order to prove us right. It takes much time. If claims of human defenders concerned not only case facts but wrong interpretation of the law by penitentiaries’ officers then prosecutor satisfies our claims and hands down a decision to make corrections.
Aimed to reduce legal illiteracy of prison officers, «Legal Basis» sent a letter to governor of Federal Service for Execution of punishment and offered to organize free educational trainings with help of professionals of ROO «Human and Law» from Republic Mari El.
According to Chairwoman of Regional public organization «Human and law» Irina Protasova her organization deals with legal education for penitentiary system officers since 2004. This activity aimed to assist government in taking measures of common sense on European Court decision, in legal education for authorities. Generally speaking our trainings teach prison officers what to do in order cases against Russia don’t go to European court. Namely respect human rights, react to violations. Program of trainings based not only on legal basis of work but on physiological experience as well. Since 2004 we organized more than 600 trainings in different parts of Russia. We visited 7 regions and everywhere we have letters of gratitude and recognition that trainings are very useful. We have opportunity to organize one training with Federal Service for Execution of punishment’s staff in Yekaterinburg. We addressed to Ombudsman of Sverdlovsk region T. G. Merzlyakova with this suggestion but all we got was refusal to help. Then we addressed to Aleksey Sokolov, but Federal Service rejected our offer. The reasons of denial are not clear.
We keep working in different regions and find support from heads of regional administrations who see benefits from our work. By the way, in 2009 I have got certificate of appreciation for my activity from Federal Service of Russia. In winter we organized training in Saint -Petersburg where assistant in human rights from Federal Service of Yekaterinburg was invited but he refused to come over without direct permission of Federal Service of Russia. We wrote a letter there but for we were short of time and we didn’t get support. In Moscow there is bureaucracy, as you understand. Of course nobody banned to start this trainings. And Federal Service approved this event.
However, after 4 months Aleksey Sokolov have got response from V.A. Shipizin where we can make it clear that heads of Federal Service were not interested in rising of legal education among their officers. Despite of not having flat rejection but nevertheless they gave us to understand that they don’t like it. According to comments of Irina Protasova, representative of Sverdlovsk Service for Executive of punishment refused to participate in the same training, organized in Saint-Petersburg in July 2013, although Federal Service approves it.
Meanwhile Ural defenders with «Human and law» don’t lose hope that Federal Service will realize necessity of free educational trainings by means of this organization which has perfect reputation.
Human defenders of the Urals still hope that letter of Shipizin is not a response of governor of Federal Service of Sverdlovsk -Khudorozhkov who has a right not to agree with his deputy and make right decision.
Human defenders of the Urals
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