On 6 January 2015 members of the Sverdlovsk Public Monitoring Committee — Sergey Kirillov, Larisa Zakharova, Svetlana Malyugina inspected the pretrial detention center — 1 in Yekaterinburg as a part of the project «Public service for penitentiary control».
We’ve agreed with chief of Federal Government Health Institution Sergey Lapayev that we would notify in advance about us visiting medical departments and hospitals at correctional facilities. So defenders asked to tell Institution in advance but officer-on duty of the Federal Service for Execution of punishment replied he cannot help here.
It’s worth to mention that recently Larisa Zakharova and Sergey Kirillov have not been allowed to inspect medical department at the penal colony № 63 on 10 January 2015 without written permission of chief of Federal Government Health Institution Sergey Lapayev.
Today this problem has been solved and members have been into medical department of the pretrial detention center -1. They were interested in psychiatric department where officers after some conversations let defenders. Members have checked randomly four cells. No complaints found from inmates.
Then defenders have checked squad № 6 where they saw rats, mice and convicts also proved the presence of rodents in there. By the way, nobody knew why they had been transferred from other cells with better conditions.
There were two inmates at each cell. Sanitary norm of space doesn’t meet standards: 2-4 meters are supposed to be. Besides, toilet facilities are not separated at all what violates zone of private space and humiliates human dignity. All cells require repairs.
Cell № 206 is closed for repairs, according to jailers nobody is in there. Earlier human rights defenders had received complaints from people of this call that there is no ventilation inside, they cannot breath; it’s wet and cold.
Also defenders randomly have inspected other cells and several convicts. Again they heard complaints of absence of diet nutrition for sick inmates.
And the big problem in the facility is absence of sugar and sugar-containing stuff like candies. Sweet things are taken away from inmates upon arrival and even on New Year convicts didn’t get them.
There are also some who run out of antiretroviral therapy and in case of non giving pills, treatment will be interrupted tomorrow what is not acceptable.
In general, inspection went well, officers were polite and didn’t obstruct defenders.
Human rights defenders of the Urals
