"The restriction on the transfer of sanitary pads to women is abuse of power." Viasna lawyer comments new changes in the colonies

Changes in the imprisonment procedure

As with the restriction of freedom, the changes partially consolidate the de facto order and partially introduce new rules that are objectively fundamental.

Purchases in the colony store instead of parcels and care packages

The amendment to Article 84 (receiving and sending parcels and small packages by those sentenced to imprisonment, receiving care packages) regulates the process of replacing these types of support for prisoners from the outside: convicts, upon their application, are allowed to receive food and basic necessities purchased by their close relatives in the correctional institution store, instead of care packages, parcels, or small packages, with the weight specified for postal items. The purchase of food and basic necessities by persons who are not close relatives of the convicted person is allowed with the permission of the head of the correctional institution.

This norm brings certain challenges: the situation may remain the same, or it may change if the administration of the colonies insists that prisoners switch to this format of receiving support from relatives, there may be enough arguments for disenfranchised prisoners. For colonies, the replacement of parcels and care packages for the purchase of goods in the colony's stores has obvious advantages: they will not have to make extra checks and the products will be standardized. Prisoners and their families may lose in the variety and quality of goods, as well as in price: goods in colony stores mostly cost more than those of retail stores, which at the same time invest in retail space, advertising, and additional services.

A 60-minute video call instead of a short-term meeting

The innovations in Article 86 replaced scheduled short-term meetings with a telephone conversation using video communication systems lasting up to sixty minutes. This substitution is clearly unequal: the duration of a short-term meeting is four hours.

Restriction on the transfer of sanitary pads to women

In accordance with the annex to the internal regulations, the list of food and basic necessities, shoes, clothing and other industrial goods that convicts can have, receive in care packages, transfers, parcels, small packages, and purchase in the stores of the institution includes "for women: ... cotton wool, hygiene pads."

Thus, the restriction in the transfer of sanitary pads is abuse of power. Even if they think that pads are not basic necessities, then this is definitely not the case: they are sold in the prison store among the basic necessities, and it seems to me that this is the answer.

Rehabilitation centers for convicts

New prospect is the possible creation of rehabilitation centers as a structural unit for prisoners with chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or substance abuse problems to undergo comprehensive medical and social rehabilitation programs.

Psychological assistance to convicts

The procedure and goals of providing psychological assistance to prisoners are formulated in a slightly new way: in accordance with the legislation, psychological assistance is provided in adapting to the order and conditions of serving punishment, overcoming conflicts, normalizing the mental state and neutralizing negative attitudes of the individual, preparing for release. Psychological assistance to convicts is provided taking into account the specifics of serving a certain type of punishment and the application of probation and preventive measures. Psychological assistance to convicts is provided by psychologists who meet the qualification requirements defined by legislation on psychological assistance.

Prisoners can now be sent to a punishment cell for 15 days

Perhaps one of the most heinous changes is that from July 12, the placement of convicts held in penal colonies and prisons in solitary confinement with or without letting the prisoner out for work or study can last up to 15 days (previously it was 10). This will significantly simplify the task for the administrations of the colonies, although even before that they could keep convicts in solitary confinement for several consecutive terms.

Deprivation of a meeting or a care package

There is also some kind of leniency: a penalty in the form of deprivation of a meeting or a care package can be imposed no earlier than thirty days before the right to receive another parcel or care package or have a long or short-term meeting.

Forced confession

The second draconian change, which passed almost unnoticed, is the formulation of criteria to evaluate the correction of those sentenced to imprisonment: "The degree of correction of a person sentenced to imprisonment is determined by the administration of a correctional institution based on the results of evaluation of a convicted person based on a comprehensive study of his personality and assessment of behavior during the period of serving a sentence: the compliance with the criteria, as well as taking into account the convicted person's attitude to the crime committed, the elimination of the consequences of the crime committed by him, the admission of guilt in the crime committed, the guarantees of a law-abiding lifestyle expressed by the convicted person, as well as other circumstances that deserve attention and confirm the achievement of a certain degree of correction by the convicted person."

It can be argued that even before that, convicts were forced to admit guilt in the process of determining the degree of correction, but never before it had been done so on the basis of a law. There are also non-obvious consequences of this rule: those of the prisoners who hope for parole will most likely stop appealing from the colonies anything other than the term and type of punishment: otherwise complaints about the verdict on other grounds will most likely be regarded by the colony administration as non-admission of guilt, and therefore non-compliance with the criteria for correction.