Management of Zaporizhzhia penal colony, where convicts were tortured, will be brought to court
Kyiv • UNN
The State Bureau of Investigation has completed an investigation into the management of Berdiansk Correctional Colony No. 77. The defendants will be tried for creating a criminal organization, torture and extortion of money from prisoners in 2016-2020.
Law enforcement officers have completed an investigation into the leadership of the Berdiansk Correctional Colony (No. 77). The colony tortured convicts to enrich the management of the institution. The indictments were sent to court. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation, UNN reports.
Details
According to law enforcement officials, extortion and torture in the colony were carried out in 2016-2020. The management introduced a whole procedure for torturing convicts and extorting money from them and their families. Other convicts were directly involved in torture.
From the moment of arrival to the colony, each of the convicts underwent a rigorous admission procedure, during which they were subjected to sophisticated forms of torture, physical and psychological pressure, the main purpose of which was to break the will of a person and force them to follow any instructions without question
It is noted that the convicts were subjected to numerous tortures on a daily basis during the first 14 days of their stay in the quarantine and distribution unit. They were beaten with a plastic or wooden stick on the feet, punched in the neck vertebrae, twisted their arms behind their backs, beaten with a stick on the gluteal region, beaten with a plastic or wooden stick on the phalanges of their fingers, and had fungal infections under their nails with a contaminated sewing needle.
Tying up or immobilizing a person for a long time was also used. They were forced to stay in one position for several hours, squat more than 500 or more times , etc.
In between torture, the victims were asked to call their relatives and ask them to transfer money to a specific card, the amount of which varied from one to 100 thousand hryvnias, depending on the financial situation of the relatives.
Unable to withstand the daily torture, the victims and their relatives were forced to comply with the demands of the torturers and to throw money, the SBI said.
The collected funds were sent to colony on a monthly basis in parcels for specifically identified convicts, later seized from them and handed over to the leaders.
Currently, indictments against the former head of the state institution “Berdiansk Correctional Colony (№ 77)” and his first deputy, as well as 7 convicts who voluntarily agreed to become their accomplices, have been sent to court.
The actions of the defendants are qualified by part one of Article 255 (creation and management of a criminal organization, participation in a criminal organization and crimes committed by it) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (as amended by Law No. 671 - IX of 04.06.2020), part two of Article 127 (torture), part four of Article 189 (extortion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The sanctions of the articles provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years.
