One of the objectives of the visit was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons detained by law enforcement agencies. For this purpose, the CPT’s delegation interviewed a considerable number of persons who are or have recently been in the custody of the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
Another objective of the visit was to review the treatment of prisoners in two correctional colonies in the Kharkiv area, namely Colonies No. 25 and 100, where the CPT had received a significant number of allegations of severe physical ill-treatment and/or torture by prison officers during previous visits. In the context of its visits to penitentiary establishments, the delegation also examined the conditions of detention of remand prisoners (in SIZOs) and the situation of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment (at Colony No. 100 and Kharkiv SIZO).
In the course of the visit, the delegation had meetings with Nataliia Sevostianova, First Deputy Minister of Justice, Denys CHERNYSHOV, Deputy Minister of Justice on Prison Matters, Sergiy PETUKHOV, Deputy Minister of Justice on European Integration, Anastasiia DIEIEVA, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Vitaliy MALIKOV, First Deputy Head of the SSU, as well as with senior officials of the Ministries of Justice and the Interior.
Further, the delegation held consultations with senior prosecutors of the Office of the General Prosecutor and Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office. The delegation also met Ms Valeria LUTKOVSKA, Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights in her capacity as Head of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), and representatives of various International Organisations and non-governmental organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.
At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its preliminary observations to the Ukrainian authorities. The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:
- George TUGUSHI, Head of Delegation
- Marzena KSEL, 1st Vice-President of the CPT
- Djordje ALEMPIJEVIĆ
- Alexander MINCHEV
- Ilvija PŪCE.
They were supported by Michael NEURAUTER and Borys WÓDZ, Heads of Division in the CPT’s Secretariat, and assisted by an expert, Michael KELLETT, former Detective Chief Inspector in the Lancashire Constabulary (United Kingdom).
In the course of the visit, the delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:
Law enforcement establishments
Kyiv region
- Kyiv Temporary Holding Facility (ITT)
- Kyiv-Shevchenkivskyi District Police Division
- Detention Facility of the SSU
Kharkiv region
- Kharkiv ITT
- SSU Regional Headquarters
Khmelnitskiy region
- Kamianets-Podilskiy ITT
- Kamianets-Podilskiy District Police Division
- Kamianets-Podilskiy City Police Station
- Khmelnitskiy ITT
- Khmelnitskiy-Zarichansky District Police Division
- Krasyliv District Police Division
Odessa region
- Odessa ITT
Penitentiary establishments
- Colony No. 25
- Colony No. 100
- Kyiv SIZO
- Kharkiv SIZO
- Khmelnitskiy SIZO
- Odessa SIZO.
