"Aimed at inducing convicts to plead guilty." Viasna lawyer analyzes the changes in the law on open-type correctional institutions
The Law On Amendments to Criminal Liability Codes came into force in Belarus on July 12. The changes will affect, among other things, the Penal Enforcement Code (PEC), the main document on the rights and obligations of convicts. In some cases, the authorities at the legislative level want to consolidate the existing practice. For example, to force convicts to eat in open-type correctional facilities at their own expense or at the expense of the institution with subsequent reimbursement of the cost. At the same time, this is exactly what is happening in open-type correctional institutions now. Viasna lawyer Pavel Sapelka analyzed the amendments to the PEC and explained what would change for those sentenced to open-type correctional institutions, what would be considered a "violation of the conditions of serving time", and spoke about pleading guilty, which has now become a legal condition for being considered "corrected". 
"There are not so many substantive changes in the PEC, and they are mainly designed to consolidate existing practice at the legislative level.
The new norms of the PEC can generally be regarded as technical, with the exception of those aimed at inducing convicts to plead guilty at the stage of serving their sentence. Previously this was a frequent, but not always obvious practice, and formally convicts were free from this obligation," the lawyer evaluates the changes.
Arrival notificationThe period during which the administration of the institution executing the punishment is obliged to send a notification to one of the relatives of the convicted person, on the basis of a convict's written application, with information about the arrival of the convicted person to the place of serving the sentence may slightly increase: no later than three working days from the date of their arrival. It used to be "three days", so it could happen on weekends. |
Surveillance in open-type correctional institutionsA new practice in open-type correctional institutions during the monitoring of convicts' compliance with the regulations and conditions of serving their sentences will be the use of audiovisual, electronic, and other technical means of surveillance and control "to prevent administrative offenses and crimes, violations of the established procedure for serving sentences, as well as to obtain the necessary information about the behavior of convicts." |
Eating at your own expense, which is practiced de factoThe catering regulations changed: the institution no longer organizes meals for convicts (in fact, it has never organized it in the recent past). Meals will be provided to convicts at their own expense, and in the absence of convicts' own funds, their meals will be provided at the expense of the state with subsequent compensation by convicts for their cost. Cooking will be carried out by convicts on their own in specially equipped rooms (this is how it is organized now)." |
Extortion in open-type correctional institutionsThe practice of accepting goods and money from prisoners by the open-type correctional facility has been legalized: "To improve the living conditions of convicts, to provide material assistance to convicts in open-type correctional institutions, funds and other property provided free of charge by convicts and other individuals can be used." |
Replacing serving time in an open-type correctional institution with a more lenient punishmentThere have been a change in criteria, according to which those sentenced to restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility, who are registered at their place of residence, and who are "firmly on the path of correction", can be transferred by court order to serve a sentence of restriction of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility. |
Forcing to plead guiltyIt became a norm that from now on, pleading guilty is no longer de facto, but de jure condition in order to meet the criterion of being "firmly on the path of correction." |
Violation of the conditions of serving a sentenceViolations of the order and conditions of serving a sentence in the form of restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility will include: failure by the convicted person to fulfill the duties assigned to them, non-compliance with the internal regulations of open-type correctional institutions, violation of established prohibitions, labor discipline; as well as bringing to administrative responsibility for committing administrative offenses against public order and public morality or other administrative offenses for which the law stipulates an administrative penalty in the form of administrative arrest. This amendment clarified the previous short wording about the violation of public order. |
Verbal warningThe procedure and conditions for issuing an verbal warning about the inadmissibility of violating an established procedure and conditions for serving a sentence have been insignificantly changed. A repeated verbal warning will be allowed no earlier than one month from the date of the previous verbal warning. |
