Deputies want to keep terrorists separate from other prisoners. How is this? Will special prisons be built for them?

Deputies introduced three bills to the State Duma, tightening the conditions of detention for those convicted under certain “terrorist” articles of the Criminal Code and those who received a sentence under a “regular” article, but in prison promoted radical views. According to the deputies, it turns out that according to the new laws, all those convicted of terrorism and “ideologists” will be kept in separate prisons.

"Terrorist" articles

Articles of the Criminal Code under which convicts will be sent to prison

205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Terrorist act.

205.1–205.5 Promoting terrorism; Propaganda and justification of terrorism; Completing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities; Organization of a terrorist community and participation in it.

1. Taking a hostage by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.

2. Organization of an illegal armed group and participation in it.

3. Hijacking of an air or water transport vessel.

220 Illegal handling of nuclear materials or radioactive substances

221 Theft or extortion of nuclear materials or radioactive substances

277 Encroachment on the life of a statesman.

278 Violent seizure of power.

279 Armed rebellion.

281 Sabotage.

360 Attack on internationally protected persons or institutions

1. An act of international terrorism.

No, the bills do not provide for additional budget expenditures, which means that no one is going to build any new prisons. And the documents also do not say that they want to keep terrorists isolated from other prisoners. The point is that those convicted of terrorism will not be in colonies, but in prisons. Prisoners from colonies convicted under other articles, but found to have a “destructive influence on other... convicts associated with... the study, propaganda or dissemination of the ideology of terrorism” will be transferred to other colonies (probably special for the “terrorist” contingent). But they can also go to prison if they are found to be constantly violating the rules of the colony (the decision is made by the court on the recommendation of the head of the colony).

In addition, deputies plan to deprive terrorists convicted of especially serious charges of the right to be transferred from prison to a colony. All other categories of prisoners can , in case of good behavior, receive a transfer to a colony after serving half of their sentence. Persons from the same “hard” list will not have the time spent in a pre-trial detention center counted toward their time served in prison.

In prisons, prisoners live in closed shared cells, and in colonies - in barracks. Convicts are distributed among cells depending on who is sitting for the first time and who is not - as a rule, new people are not placed with repeat offenders. In prison, as in a colony, there are two regimes - general and strict, but they are noticeably tougher. Prison inmates are allowed only one and a half hours (an hour under maximum security) of exercise per day in a specially equipped place. If in colonies (even high-security ones) convicts are kept in “detachments” of several dozen people, then in prisons people are even taken out for walks “cell by cell”. That is, each convict constantly communicates with only a few cellmates. For the first year in prison, all prisoners are on a strict regime; they get fewer dates, fewer packages, and less money to spend on groceries.

In most cases, prisoners do not have the opportunity to work and study (except for reading books in their cells).

“In prisons, it is not the task of correction that prevails, but rather the goal of preventing convicts from committing new crimes while serving their sentences,” write the authors of a textbook on criminal law for law students.

According to the Penal Code, those who have been sentenced to a term of at least five years for committing a particularly serious crime, especially dangerous repeat offenders and those who have maliciously violated order in a colony can go to prison. In Soviet times, it was in prisons that “thieves in law” were imprisoned .

There are only eight prisons in Russia. They are located in different regions - from the Vladimir Central to the prison in Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory. According to statistics from the Federal Penitentiary Service, only 1,268 people are imprisoned there. For comparison: there are 2,014 people in special regime colonies, where criminals sentenced to life and simply very long sentences are imprisoned; in “regular” colonies there are more than 467 thousand prisoners.

If the bills are adopted, the number of prison inmates, according to deputies, could increase by 1-4 thousand people. It is unclear whether Russian prisons will be able to accommodate so many new prisoners.

In short, the logic of the Russian authorities is this: they need to make sure that terrorists in prisons do not recruit new supporters.

“An isolated prison regime will minimize... the spread of extremist ideology among convicts and their recruitment into the ranks of terrorist organizations,” the deputies explain .

While the deputies were working on the bills, they were supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, which called for keeping terrorists “in special reservations,” as well as President Vladimir Putin. “These additional ‘universities’ and the processing of prisoners in places of deprivation of liberty by radical elements are absolutely of no use to us,” he said .

Dmitry Kuznets