Public commissions may influence prison administrations, human rights activists hope

Issues of improving the efficiency of and supporting the recently organized Russian system of public control over detention places were discussed on April 21 in Moscow at the international conference on defence of prisoners' rights.

The international conference "Public control over detention facilities. Experience of Russia and European Union" was organized jointly with the Office of Russian Ombudsman and with participation of members of public observation commissions over detention facilities from the regions, representatives of President's administration, law enforcement bodies, Public Chamber, human rights activists, experts from the European Union and the Council of Europe.

Leaders and activists of human rights organizations from Russia and other countries, as well as Russian officials, including officers of the Federal Service of Punishment Enforcement (known as "FSIN") were also present.

Let us note here that according to the Federal Law on public control over detention facilities, which came into force on June 18, 2008, 70 regions of Russia launched their public observation commissions.

Thus, for the first time in Russian history, the law has entrusted the civil society to supervise the inmates' conditions in prisons, try to improve their situation and draw attention to cases of torture and cruel treatment by colony administrations.

However, the public observation commissions (POCs) have faced, already in their first year, organizational, technical and legal problems. Their independence, which is the main precondition of work for them, is far from being reached. This conclusion was made by the conference speakers.

Human rights activists from the regions of the Caucasus spoke about often pitiable situation of prisoners from Chechnya and Ingushetia. Vladimir Shaklein, an activist of the Movement "For Human Rights" from Ekaterinburg and a member of the local POC, noted that many colony employees are former participants of warfare in Chechnya; therefore, they are mostly aggressive against Caucasians, especially against Chechens. It gives rise to violence in particular in prisons of the Sverdlovsk Region, where currently several hundreds of Chechen and Ingush natives are serving their terms.

Thus, according to his story, regional authorities and colony administrations often prevent human rights defenders from visiting prisons and meetings inmates there.

Aset Malsagova, a human rights defender from Chechnya, said that the efforts of POCs and public organizations are viewed as a mechanism of influencing administrations of Russian prisons, where, according to public monitoring, over 20,000 natives of Chechnya and Ingushetia are kept. According to the FSIN, however, the figure is less - 16,000.

At the end of the conference, its participants adopted and signed an appeal to the leadership of Russia - President Dmitri Medvedev, Premier Vladimir Putin, chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, Chairman of the Council of Federation Sergey Mironov and Secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Evgeni Velikhov.

The appeal offers to improve the legislation by expanding the scope of control of the POCs, having allowed human rights activists at any time, as well as on days off, to visit prisons, as well as detoxification centres, psychiatric clinics, recruiting offices and other detention facilities.

Also, the participants of the conference suggest that country leaders oblige prison administrations to respond in writing within ten days to written requests of POC members, and to amend the law on the prosecutor's office, so as to oblige its officials to assist to the work of the commissions.

The main idea of the document is to cancel the provision obliging POC members not to notify colony administrations in advance about their visits. Human rights activists note that where beating and violence in prisons are standard, administrations threat their inmates and force them to keep silent and not to be frank with human rights activists.