01 July 2005, 19:24 Society

The prisoners defeated the regime

German Prokhorov , Marina Krymova (Kursk) Two representatives of the leadership of the Lgov colony have been charged with abuse of power. The prisoners who opened their veins to protest against the violence stated that it was these people who initiated the beatings in the colony. It is not yet clear whether their other demands will be met.

On Friday, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office announced that the deputy head of the Lgov colony OK-30/3, Vladislav Dvoenosov, and the senior inspector of the security department of the same correctional institution, Viktor Reutov, were charged as part of a criminal case initiated on the basis of mass self-harm of prisoners. They are charged with Part 3 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (exceeding official powers with the use of violence, weapons or special means).

Now each of them faces from 3 to 10 years in prison.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, in the near future the court should choose a preventive measure for representatives of the colony's leadership. On the proposal of prosecutors, the management of the penitentiary system for the Kursk region should remove them from work.
Earlier, the prosecutor's office of the Kursk region stated that charges should be brought against two defendants in the case on Friday evening, but until this moment they refused to name their names.

As Gazeta.Ru has already reported, the prisoners who on the night of June 26-27 began to open their veins in protest against the beatings, as well as their relatives who had been on duty at the walls of the colony for the last five days, stated that Dvoenosov and Reutov initiated bullying in the institution.

On Friday, officials, including the Kursk Regional Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating the criminal case, were still trying in every possible way to reassure the public and relatives of the prisoners, reporting that the bloody riot within the walls of the colony had ended and the convicts were not in danger.

However, apparently, no one could calm the prisoners.

In the afternoon, representatives of the movement “For Civil Rights” told Gazeta.Ru that the 1,300 prisoners remaining in the colony were starving: they were refusing both government food and food from relatives. One of the convicts, who was released, said that prisoners continue to open their veins, many of them write suicide notes. According to some information, which, however, is refuted by the prosecutor’s office, the territory of the Lgov IK-3 was taken under heavy security by riot police and public security police units of the Kursk Region Internal Affairs Directorate.
It is also known that riot participants were transported from the territory of the colony because law enforcement officers saw no other way to stop the unrest. The prisoners were taken out at night. According to relatives, initially, on the night of July 28-29, three full paddy wagons left the area. Then representatives of the prosecutor's office and the leadership of the colony denied this fact. But, as Evgeniy Kuroyedov, an employee of the Committee for Civil Rights, told Gazeta.Ru on Thursday, “according to parents leaving visits, the convicts, who were in the most serious condition, were actually taken to the regional hospital of the department of corrections in the village of Kosinovo.” According to the human rights activist, the relatives of many prisoners cannot be found in this hospital. “Then employees of the prosecutor’s office explained that for security reasons, 50 people were taken out - some to the Oryol region, some to the Belogorod region,” Kuroedov said.

On Thursday and Friday, the Chairman of the Public Council under the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation on problems of the activities of the penal system, Valery Borshchev, visited the territory of the Lgov colony . He arrived in the Kursk region together with representatives of the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

After visiting the colony, the human rights activist reported that 437 people were participating in the action, and not a little more than 300, as previously stated by law enforcement agencies .

“Mostly they have superficial cuts, but 26 prisoners had to have stitches,” Borshchev said. According to him, prisoners filed many complaints and human rights activists actually discovered many violations in the colony, “which will need to be dealt with.”

According to Gazeta.Ru, in recent days, deputies of the State Duma and even the presidential administration have shown attention to what is happening in Lgov .

As the movement “For Civil Rights” reported, the head of the LDPR, Vladimir Zhirinovsky , promised to send his representatives to Lgov . “And on Friday the relatives received a telegram from the presidential administration, which stated that the relatives’ appeal had been transferred to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation and a special commission would be sent to the Kursk region.”

For now, even human rights activists do not know whether the prisoners will stop the obstruction. It is known that their demands also include the resignation of the head of the colony, Yuri Bushev , as well as the head of the penitentiary system for the Kursk region, Viktor Fedichev. In general, as Valery Borshchev told Gazeta.Ru, “the situation in the colony has not yet been resolved, although its severity has decreased.” “Relatives are received, the regional prosecutor and the deputy head of the Kursk Penitentiary Inspectorate came. I believe that the most important thing now is to hold negotiations between representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service and prisoners. The most important thing is to establish a negotiation process - so that the demands that are made are somehow discussed and implemented,” he says.