The end of torture?

General of Sverdlovsk Federal Service for Execution of punishment S. Khudorozhkov gets down to torture colonies of Ivdel. Apparently he is fed up with local authorities from penal colonies №62, 55.

First in the firing line was colony chief №62 Gusev. His correctional facility is considered to be the most cruel place in Sverdlovsk region, but on the first place was penal colony №2 of Yekaterinburg. Gusev made up new refined torture and rejected all meetings with human rights defenders and attorneys in order not to let information out of his possession.

Only after Gusev lost all court cases against human rights defenders, in addition Federal Service was as co-defendant and was declared inactive regional body patience of Main Committee has snapped.

Gusev was caught taking bribe, first part he received year ago. Anyway convict suffered from tortures didn’t feel better because Gusev is not subject to punishment for his abuse of power.

Then they «shake» penal colony №55 where hospital for convicts is located. Among human rights defenders this hospital is considered as torture chamber in Sverdlovsk region.

During one year staff is changed in colony. We didn’t many prison officers who said with smiling face that they protected convicts but in fact they «bring up» inmates by torturing them. But life shows what is true: we keep working and they are fired and caught for crimes.

Problems with admission to colony occurred all the time. Convicts exactly from this colony refused from legal help on a massive scale. We heard so many complaints from people released from prison: tortures, beating, extortion by people who worked on administration.

Administration gave control for main part of inmates to «activists». They obey an order of prison officers.

Then turn came for chief of №55 Y.N.Kalinin who was fired upon the attainment of the age of pension. But falsely got back on position, he filed case about getting back to work; he lost it.

In court session it became clear that Kalinin was fired also because of complicated situation in colony, prosecutor actions and court decision over inactive penal colony №55.

I’d like to mention members of Public Monitoring Committee of Sverdlovsk region and human rights defenders announced about law violence in there and Federal Service knew situation well.

But only years later General paid attention to problem of Federal Service. According to it, there is a question: «Did he notice it or maybe he got an order to stop it?».

Time will show. We will be informing Federal Service of Russia about human rights violations in correctional facilities of Sverdlovsk region.

 Aleksey Sokolov, Expert Council member under Ombudsman in the Russian Federation.