The Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO demands investigation
of the events that led to the riot in the Penal Colony 6
in the city of Kopeysk, the Chelyabinsk region, on November
24, and unjustified cruelty in suppressing of the riot and
use of riot police (OMON) for dispersing prisoners relatives
and human rights activists who gathered by the prison.
So far, the Russian society has not received any coherent
explanation from the prison administration and the heads of
the Federal Service for Execution of Punishment. However,
there is no doubt that such a large-scale confrontation between
prisoners and the prison administration can not occur all
of a sudden. Unfortunately, Penal Colony No 6 has been notoriously
"famous" for a series of scandals involving the
deaths and tortures of prisoners. Information coming from
the administration and the Federal Service for Execution and
Punishment of "an unlawful demand of 250 prisoners on
weakening of the regime" does not look credible. We see
the prisoners calls for help, excessive use of force by the
riot police against prisoners relatives and human rights
activists.
We demand that the Government of the Russian Federation, the
Federal Service for Execution of Punishment and Public Prosecutor
Generals Office take this case under their control and conduct
a real investigation into the causes that led to such a situation.
A shallow investigation or pseudo-reports on normalization
of the situation on the penal colony that has begun emerging
in the press can only lead to an aggravation of the situation.
We would like to remind the authorities, the prisoners are
citizens of Russia, and beatings, humiliation and tortures
are inadmissible. The state and its agencies should not recur
to unlawful actions, when the very name of "correctional
facility" becomes a mockery of common sense and the realities
of today.
We urge the authorities to ensure observance of the constitutional
rights of the convicted - non-use of tortures, provision of
medical service and the right to life - and to provide access
to the colony of human rights activists and relatives.
We demand that the President of the Russian Federation to
establish order in the system of the Federal Service for Execution
of Punishment returning it to the constitutional framework.
We believe that the current heads of the regional Federal
Service for Execution of Punishment and the prison administration
should be removed from their posts for professional incompetence.
Sergei Mitrokhin,
Chair of the YABLOKO party
See also:
Human
Rights
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