HUMAN RIGHTS

"Many inadmissible things take place in prisons, in conditions of utmost social and psychological tension; these things are regarded by the Council of Europe as tortures," The Day was told by Semen Hluzman, director of the Ukrainian-US Human Rights Bureau. "The problem is that Ukraine's penitentiary system corresponds to a country no longer in existence, the Soviet Union. Given all the recent democratic innovations, the situation has grown from bad to unbearably worse due to economic hardships. From what I know, some 3000 inmates died of tuberculosis and dystrophy last year. This cannot be ignored. People are let out of prison angry and sick without any social guarantees. They become recidivists, committing other, even more vicious crimes. In other words, our penitentiary system increases crime. "There is, of course, a solution to this problem. Alternative punishment, for example. This would save taxpayer's money and prevent a convict from becoming a habitual criminal. Ukrainian lawmakers are so politicized that they pay little attention if any to their fellow citizens. And one must raise the issue of our prison inmates, people denied social contacts. I saw prisons in other countries and what impressed me most is that there are social workers at every penitentiary or mental asylum who handle every inmate and maintain his social contacts. And their are other people on staff who see to the inmate's education.

"In Ukraine, 50% of all convicts turn into hardened criminals. And the general at the head of the Penitentiary Department (subordinated to the Cabinet - O. P.) does not allow journalists to visit prisons instead of giving them broad access so they could demand legal changes. Prison wardens are not to blame for what is going on inside. They are simply soldiers of the system.

"The lawmaker is to blame for Lukyanivska Penitentiary inmates waiting their turn to sleep (like under Stalin). I think that our prison brutality is largely explained by this. Prison guards are also in torturous conditions, although different from those of the inmates. We have to start at the government level."

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture prepared and sent to Ukraine a report on conditions in which people are kept in penitentiaries, mental hospitals, and barracks, along with recommendations on how to correct the shortcomings. Even though Ukraine does not seem overly concerned about its responsibility for crowded detention cells, for bullying and harassment in the army (a long-standing practice), or torment by hunger in Ukrainian prisons. The danger of exposing to the world the state's treatment could become a serious stimulus for action. Of course, this is the only solution when the country is not interested in showing any initiative to change its stated attitude on human rights. Yevhen YEVINTOV, member of the European Committee and director of the Ukrainian Human Rights Center, talks about ECPT which will mark its tenth anniversary this November.

The Day: Does the Committee report address specific cases of human rights violations and suggest the transgressor's personal responsibility?

V. Y.: Yes, there are specific cases, albeit given in veiled form due to the principle of confidentiality. The committee does not disclose discrediting facts but lets the state correct its shortcomings. Information can be disclosed only with the victim's consent. In any case, negotiations are underway with the state not in conjunction with the report but for the purpose of making the document public. Here all bargaining is out of the question.

The Day: The convention says your committee deals with authorities supervising places of confinement. Who is to be made answerable for transgressions, if and when detected?

V. Y.: This is something to be decided by the state, not by this or that authority. Some of the latter are unwilling to cooperate, but this happens everywhere, East and West alike. The committee deals with the state through the Foreign Ministry and the report is addressed there. If the state refuses to improve the situation the committee may issue a statement, including whatever facts it deems necessary to make public. This is a powerful moral and political sanction against the state, and this may, of course, cause CE political sanctions.
The Day: Could an ordinary citizen's request lead the committee to make a regular or ad hoc inspection (e.g., by visiting or supplying incriminating information)?

V. Y.: Of course. Statements from citizens are accepted and they help during inspections, although the committee most actively cooperates with nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine. I am in no position to identify them. I don't think that the state would resort to repression, but we adhere to the principle of confidentiality just in case.

The Day: Almost as soon as the convention was ratified the question arose how it would be implemented in Ukraine. We do not have any laws defining torture as inhuman or humiliating treatment and punishment. Is it important for the national legislation to have this definition?

V. Y.: Even the convention doesn't define it. European Court precedents define torture as deliberate inhuman treatment causing severe suffering; inhuman treatment is interpreted as causing intensive physical, or moral suffering; humiliating conduct is explained as misconduct aimed at causing the victim to experience fear, grief, or inferiority, resulting in humiliation or insult, committed to overcome physical or moral resistance. Now torture and inhuman treatment are similar notions, although varying in intensity.

The Day: Not so long ago all of us in Ukraine discussed a soccer match, rather the police conduct during it, which was watched by all Europe. I witnessed a policeman drag a lawbreaker, brandishing his truncheon. Are such actions condemned by the committee? What should ordinary citizens do in a situation like this?

V. Y.: Of course, such conduct is impermissible. The victim should sue the police in the first place, referring to the European conventions and European Court of Human Rights, and notify the committee. This information will be taken into account.

The Day: The convention says the committee must consider the demands of national legislation. At the same time the Cabinet decreed that information relating to persons sentenced to death should be kept secret. Our newspaper was even denied information about the President's Pardon Commission. What should the committee do under the circumstances?

V. Y.: In this context national legislation requirements imply human rights laws. In case of transgressions the committee will override any restrictions. Besides, I consider that this Cabinet decision contradicts your national legislation. The laws on state secrets and information have it that no data relating to human rights can be kept secret. In addition, Ukraine failed to honor its commitment to abolish capital punishment, so its citizens are today in the so-called death corridor - I mean those on death row. This is contrary to European postulates. Ukraine will have to make its stand on the matter clear.

By Oksana PANCHENKO, The Day

FROM THE DAY'S FILES

In the first half of 1998, a total of 76,285 persons were imprisoned, including 5,046 women; 43,055 (3,711 women) received a second term; 4 were condemned for crimes against the state; 18,466 (1,323) for killing; 3,172 (20) for rape; 1,047 (12) died in jail. Terms up to one year: 5,079 (633); 1-2 years: 16,817 (1,674); 2-3 years: 30,981 (2,593); 3-5 years: 57,375 (3,759); 5-8 years: 40,269 (2,190); 8-10 years: 15,586 (655); 10-15 years: 13,833 (510); over 15 years: 106 (2). Of these 99,754 (8,903) received their first terms. Last year's amnesty released 35,610 inmates.