In Kabardino-Balkaria, heavily sick women are kept in custody

Yesterday, on January 25, The Public Observation Commission over Detention Places of Kabardino-Balkaria visited the women's colony located in the village of "Sovietskiy" in the Prokhladnoe District, where 389 women are currently serving their terms. Some of them are seriously ill, many have no jobs.

Arsen Apshev, deputy head of the colony, told the members of the commission that all the women have their individual beds and clothes to match the season. "Jobs are in deficit in the colony; not enough for all the inmates," he said. "Some women work in sewing shops, some are servicing the facility. However, more than one third of them are jobless: some of them are of pension age and invalids, but some are young and capable."

Mr Apshev said that the colony administration is taking steps to expand the sewing production. In particular, they negotiate with the Pyatigorsk garment factory on opening of a shop for sewing uniform in the territory of the colony.

Mr Beituganov, in charge of the colony's medical unit, said that there are seriously sick persons among women-inmates. At present, about ten TB patients are kept in the colony's hospital; there are also oncology patients among them, in need of surgical treatment. "Unfortunately, when conditional early relief (CER) is considered, they don't take the medical conclusion into account," he said. "Judges believe that inmates-patients should be released under a separate article of the Penal Execution Code (PEC). As to cancer patients, they are released only at the forth, final phase of the disease."

There are also HIV-infected women in the colony, who, according to Beituganov, receive all the necessary preparations to support their immune system. "We invite civil doctors for examinations and consultations. Many patients suffer from asthma and hypertension," said the head of the medical unit.

The members of the commission examined the production facilities beds, the canteen, toilets and bathrooms. All the deficiencies were reported to the managers of the institution. Then, the commission held individual talks with female prisoners.

As it became known to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, according to the statement of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 14, 2011, No. 3 "On Medical Examination of Suspects or Defendants", a list of diseases has been defined, when prisoners should be released. It includes severe forms of tuberculosis (TB), HIV, cancer, diabetes, diseases of endocrine glands, liver, musculoskeletal system, etc. The health condition of the prisoner or the suspect should be certified by a conclusion, based on the results of the medical examination.