Translated material
Smoke from the “red” zone
As a result of riots in a colony in the Samara region, several dozen people were injured
One prisoner died and at least 25 more were injured as a result of the riots that occurred on Tuesday evening in the maximum security correctional colony (IK) No. 6, located in the village of Upravlencheskiy, Krasnoglinsky district, Samara region. They began with a mass fight between prisoners and ended with the arson of the colony buildings. Initially, information appeared that three employees of the penal colony administration were also injured during the riots, but representatives of the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service did not confirm this.Investigators from the regional department of the Investigative Committee under the prosecutor's office were just finding out yesterday what caused the riots. So far, a criminal case has been opened into the incident under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - 321 (disorganization of the activities of institutions that ensure isolation from society) and 212 (mass riots). According to local human rights activists, the cause of the unrest was the disagreement between two groups of prisoners - the so-called “activists” who cooperate with the administration, and the rest, due to the policies of the leadership of the IK. The latter were allegedly outraged by the unequal attitude of the colony leadership towards the same misdeeds of prisoners.
Correctional Colony No. 6 in the village of Upravlencheskiy houses about 2 thousand convicts serving sentences mainly for serious crimes. A third of them have sentences of more than 15 years in prison.
According to the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Samara Region, the unrest in the colony began around eight o'clock in the evening with a fight between convicts from two groups. According to preliminary data, a total of about 50 people took part in it. During the massacre, eight so-called internal control towers were also set on fire. They are located not along the perimeter of the colony, but directly on its territory between the sectors into which the institution is divided. The towers are manned not by guards, but by convicts from among the “activists” who monitor the movement of the rest of the special contingent through the territory and, if necessary, open the internal gates between sectors. As a result, four of these tower-booths burned down completely; in addition, the fire destroyed the former headquarters building. In recent years, it housed various clubs in which prisoners could study, as well as a warehouse.
As a representative of the regional Federal Penitentiary Service noted, it was a wooden building from the 1930s, quite dilapidated, and “it still had to be demolished.” Nevertheless, several fire brigades were called to the IK territory and fought the fire for almost two hours.
Order was completely restored in the colony by midnight. At the same time, as noted by the Federal Penitentiary Service, the administration of the colony managed on its own and special forces and special equipment were not used against prisoners.
As a result of the fire and riots, 25 people were injured and hospitalized, three of whom suffered serious burns. Already yesterday, during the dismantling of burnt buildings, the body of one dead prisoner was found. According to preliminary data, he was unable to get out of one of the set fire towers.
One employee of the institution was also injured - he suffered minor bruises to his face. However, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service, it is not yet clear whether this incident was related to the unrest. According to the report of the injured employee, a few hours before the riots, one of the convicts punched him. Representatives of the regional prosecutor's office, the Investigative Committee and the Federal Penitentiary Service commission from Moscow arrived at the colony yesterday to understand the causes of the unrest.
Local human rights activists said that this colony in the Krasnoglinsky district is well known to them. According to the Commissioner for Human Rights for the Samara Region, Irina Skupova, IK-6 has always been distinguished by a large number of complaints about the actions of staff. They became especially frequent after the death of convicted Sergei Podangin in October last year. According to the management, the prisoner died of pneumonia, but the convicts themselves stated that he died as a result of beatings. Then the investigation carried out an investigation, which, however, did not end in anything, and now everyone who testified in that case is allegedly being harassed. The slightest offense, the convicts say, is punished in a punishment cell.
However, human rights activists are not inclined to connect the latest unrest with the anniversary of Podangin’s death. In their opinion, the situation that led to the unrest had been brewing for several months. The colony in the Krasnoglinsky district, in the jargon of the convicts, is considered “red”. There are many “activists” here who collaborate with the administration, which gives them “expanded” powers in return.
According to the convicts, in recent months the “activists” have been actively pressing the “thieves” with the demand to stop supplying alcohol and drugs to the colony, while they themselves continued to sin with both. At the same time, the administration of the correctional institution turned a blind eye to the violations of the “activists.” As a result, a conflict broke out. According to the Human Rights Ombudsman, the fire started in the Reds' dormitory and only then spread to the high-security building, and then the towers were set on fire. Actually, all the burn victims were “activists” who were trying to hide from the angry prisoners.
According to Ms. Skupova, work with the contingent in colony No. 6 is fundamentally incorrect. “You can’t expect good things in a colony where the boss calls the institution punitive. It is not punitive, but corrective. We must proceed from this,” she noted.