PSC will deal with vulnerable groups in the penitentiary system

On December 4-5, representatives of public monitoring commissions for places of forced detention (POC) from the regions of Russia discuss “Respect for the rights of vulnerable groups of prisoners: disabled people, people with mental disorders” and develop a plan for systemic changes in the area to which it is time to pay attention.

Quite recently, my colleague Victoria Gromova and I visited a prison hospital in Voronezh and also could not help but intervene.

Despite the fact that, in general, the Federal Penitentiary Service is taking measures to correct the situation in its institutions, even taking into account the rulings of the European Court and the requirements of the Public Monitoring Committee, hands and resources reach the rights of persons with special needs on a residual basis - and this is striking. Against the backdrop of the more or less well-kept premises of the colony, on the territory of which the hospital is located, and affected by traces of routine repairs, the medical building itself appears to be a neglected barn with patients-prisoners from zones in different parts of the country and medical staff locked in it.

Opportunities for respecting the rights of people with disabilities are lacking even here, where people recover, for example, after amputation of their legs. Already here they are forced to get used to climbing up to the wind-swept square toilet on a dirty pedestal on bleeding stumps, after first jumping from a wheelchair. By the way, such a disability is not a sufficient basis for parole, and in most Russian zones where prisoners are expected to return after rehabilitation, there are no special conditions for people with disabilities. As a result, they have to while away their time without leaving their bunks for years and not being able to go outside on their own from the detachment to breathe fresh air.

Unfortunately, everything is arranged in such a way that it is impossible to help a particular disabled prisoner without getting into a long story.

In most cases, such situations require systemic changes, starting with the adoption of special departmental regulations, continuing with the reconstruction of prison medicine - with its gradual removal from the FSIN system - and ending with the arrangement of not only toilets, but also all sorts of outlandish gadgets for those places, like ramps and more in every colony.

All this, of course, requires funds, the lack of which the department constantly complains about, although they have some lying around. In the Voronezh region, for example, the construction of two new prisons is planned for the near future, which means there are funds for upgrades in the system. All that remains is to use them to maximum benefit, including for vulnerable groups.

In addition to the protocol lack of finances, there is always a lack of political will to deal with those who are not needed by anyone even in the wild. So far, representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service are making excuses, citing the fact that the standards for people with disabilities are determined by the Ministry of Justice, and are inviting public activists to coordinate interdepartmental relations. Representatives of the Public Monitoring Committee, including me, although they understand perfectly well that this requires the powers and influence of the presidential level, have begun to develop appropriate amendments to the regulations of the Ministry of Justice, from which they can build. It is in these standards that one can clarify the declarative general formula for today about “special conditions” for persons with disabilities with a list of specifically necessary measures, such as ramps, handrails, accessible entrances to units and other premises through the 1st floor, etc.

Only after the necessary words and formulas appear in dozens of documents and begin to roll off the tongue of every FSIN resident will the allocation of a budget for the repair of one toilet in a regional prison hospital cease to seem like an unsolvable problem and a headache.

What changes should take place in the penitentiary system in this direction can be judged by the experience of the meeting participants from Poland and Slovenia, who have already gone through all this, but many things are a snag even for them. After all, each category of people with disabilities requires specific solutions, which, collected in one closed and limited area, should not interfere with each other. In general, the task is not easy. Any ideas on this matter are welcome, since the field is not only not plowed - it is not even measured.

The proposal that suggested itself to many to force all disabled people into special zones at the meeting was immediately rejected by human rights activists with reference to the Convention on the Prohibition of All Forms of Discrimination and on the Rights of Imprisoned Persons with Disabilities, who, despite the special needs and specific legal situation, remain the same people as the rest need a society that is as normal as possible under such circumstances.