Ukrainian prisoners deported by Russia: lawyer tells whether the issue of determining their status is being resolved

For some reason, the state does not want to resolve the issue of the status of prisoners deported by Russia from the occupied territories of Ukraine. They do not have the status of civilian hostages at the state level. This was reported to UNN by Hanna Skrypka, a lawyer of the NGO "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine", director of the Charitable Foundation "Social and Legal Development".

We appealed to the Department for the Execution of Sentences, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Before raising our concerns, we contacted all the authorities, visited them, and tried to resolve the issue

According to her, certain issues are moving forward, but very slowly.

"The return from Georgia has accelerated, instead of 3 months, they are now in the buffer zone for a month. That is, it is moving in small steps, but very slowly," Skrypka said.

It should be noted that according to the NGO "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine", one of the ways to return is through Georgia. Currently, the majority of Ukrainian prisoners who pass through the Larsi checkpoint in Georgia are released from colonies in the Volgograd region and end up in temporary detention centers for illegal migrants.

Now, according to the new rules, prisoners without original documents can receive a temporary identity card from the Centralized Vigilance Office, which allows them to leave Russia. After receiving such IDs, they are deported to Georgia through the Larsi checkpoint.

When asked at what stage the issue of the status of deported prisoners is being resolved, Skrypka said: "It is not being resolved at all - this issue is still pending. These people have no status, both in 2014 and now. For some reason, the state does not want to resolve this issue. We filed an application as civilian hostages with the Ministry of Reintegration to be recognized as such, but we were denied.

The lawyer noted that the application had been re-submitted.

"Now we have re-submitted it and are waiting for a response. They have already attached documents that the person survived torture," Skrypka told UNN journalist.

During the event titled "Ukrainian Prisoners Forcibly Transferred to Russia: Problems of Return," Skrypka named the problems that prisoners face after crossing the border.

Status of deported prisoners

Skrypka noted on the page of the NGO "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine" that in order to ensure the protection of the rights of deported prisoners, it is necessary to recognize their status at the state level and adopt legislative changes that recognize deported prisoners as civilian hostages, provide them with appropriate legal status and assistance from the state.

Clear procedures for applying for civilian hostage status should be established, including the possibility of review and appeal in case of refusal.

Deported prisoners and transported prisoners have no status. They are not prisoners of war, not civilian hostages. That is, the state must determine the status of these people. This is a very important issue, we had no status in 2014 when we lost our prisoners, and now we have nothing. If civilian hostages have benefits, they can get 100 thousand UAH, we have nothing. The only payment we were given was 10,800 UAH when crossing the border. And only those who go through the Kolotylivka-Pokrovka checkpoint receive it, while prisoners cannot apply for this UN aid through Georgia, because they have not crossed the border

Discrimination

"We faced discrimination right in the first days after crossing. Because from the very beginning, because they were ex-convicts, they were not accepted at the border as people. Civilians from Kolotylivka-Pokrovka were given humanitarian aid, taken to Sumy, put on an evacuation train, and put in shelters. Ours were not. I called a taxi from Kolotylivka to Sumy, checked them into a hotel in Sumy, then registered them for the evacuation train, called the Ministry of Reintegration to get them on the evacuation train and we traveled that way," Skrypka said.

According to her, this problem exists, but on a slightly smaller scale, because they appealed to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, the Ministry of Reintegration, and it became a little easier, but such problems still exist.

Detention in Ukraine after returning to serve a sentence

The next problem, according to the lawyer, is the detention upon arrival of people whose sentences have not expired under Ukrainian law.

"I would like to remind them that we are guilty before them, which was recognized by the Minister of Justice Denis Malyuska. If a person has more than a month left in his or her sentence, why is he or she not granted parole, no one has canceled the benefits. Even the law doesn't need to be changed, it's just a matter of applying parole. This is one of the ways we can compensate these people at least a little bit for the fact that we did not evacuate them on time. This is a proposal and, in principle, the colony or the pre-trial detention center are obliged by law to consider it," Skrypka said.

Establishment of the legal fact of serving a sentence and mobilization upon return

According to Skrypka, when former prisoners apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a criminal record, they receive documents stating that there is no information about their release. This greatly complicates their efforts to restore personal documents, register their place of residence, register their military records, etc. In addition, it impedes their integration into society and the enjoyment of basic rights.

The extract reads as follows: the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not received any information about the release. We made inquiries to the department, and they told us to go to court to establish the legal fact... But they can be mobilized without passports, without a discharge, without even getting home. This is another problem - mobilization

It should be noted that prisoners from three prison hospitals were deported to Russia, two of which treated tuberculosis patients.

"We don't even give these people a six-month grace period to collect documents, to make a passport and collect documents for the MCC, because these people are sick, sick with tuberculosis. They are grabbed on the street and taken to the MCC. They need to restore their documents, undergo therapy, and then mobilize. They just need time to recover, at least a minimum, but they don't have it. A man was traveling, we interviewed him, put him on the train, and the MCC took him off the train and he didn't even have time to see his family. The man had just arrived from the occupation, survived torture, arrived home, and did not get home," Skrypka said.

No place of residence

Skrypky noted that due to the temporary occupation of the territories where the released persons lived, there is a problem with finding a place to live. Most of them are unable to return to their homes because of the danger or destruction of their homes.

"Here we again faced discrimination. They are not hired in shelters or anywhere else because they are former convicts. No one wants to hire them," Skrypka said.

Undesirables in Europe and the SIS database

Skrypka noted that 3,000 people are in the SIS database and none of them can enter Europe.

"I have a woman whom we returned from the Mariupol colony. She is originally from Mariupol, she had a husband and a child, they evacuated to Germany. Now she cannot go because she is not allowed to go there. You are not wanted persons, you are in the SIS database," said Skrypky.

For reference

According to Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska, in the first days of the full-scale invasion, 11 institutions and almost 3,000 prisoners and staff were occupied. In the Kherson region, 4 institutions have already been de-occupied - 1 pre-trial detention center and three colonies.

According to the NGO "Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine," about 2,000 people serving sentences in places of detention were taken from Kherson region. People who were under daily medical supervision and received constant treatment were taken from Holoprystan and Snihurivka correctional colonies, where hospitals for tuberculosis patients were located, and from Darivka correctional colony, where a general hospital was located.

In places of detention on the territory of the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), prisoners are tortured and subjected to torture, as evidenced by those who have returned. This includes forced passportization of Ukrainian prisoners throughout their detention.

Deportees return from Russia through the Kolotylivka-Pokrovka checkpoint. The second way to return is through Georgia.