Torture and extortion in Ukrainian prisons
The torture scandal in the Ukrainian colonies has broken out with renewed vigor. The State Bureau of Investigation announced the exposure of a large-scale system of torture of prisoners. Cruel footage of beatings of prisoners was also published.
Both ordinary prisoners and famous people are subjected to physical and moral humiliation.
In some cases, sophisticated bullying leads to the death of people in custody – a topic that Strana raised back in October, when the owner of the MHP media holding died in prison Igor Mizrakh.
What is known about torture and what consequences mass acts of violence under prisoners can have for Ukraine – in our material. A new scandal with torture.
This week, the State Bureau of Investigation announced the exposure of torture of prisoners in colonies in a number of regions of Ukraine, which was systemic in nature.
Four employees of the Bozhkovskaya correctional colony (No. 16), which is located in the Poltava region, received suspicions.
According to the investigation, almost all prisoners there were severely beaten. Possible deaths from this are being checked.
Various systems of torture, bullying and pressure were used.
The beatings were filmed and are now included in the case.
The footage is truly brutal. A strong man can be seen hitting the prisoner's feet with all his might with a rubber baton.
It is obvious that the prisoner is already exhausted, but the man does not stop and continues the torture.
When the prisoner completely loses consciousness, the men in uniform standing nearby forcefully drag him into a huge ice puddle – they throw him into including face.
The acquisition by prison staff of numerous assets for which they had no official funds is also being investigated.
Not the first time
The violence in the Bozhkovsky correctional colony is by no means the first such case in Ukraine. In the spring of 2023, under strange circumstances, a media worker, owner of the MHP media holding and editor-in-chief of the political magazine “Rating” died in a pre-trial detention center. Igor Mizrakh.
In May, he was taken into custody on suspicion of fraud, and in July he suddenly died in an emergency hospital, where he was taken from a pre-trial detention center in a coma.
According to our source in law enforcement agencies, Mizrakh was most likely killed.
Igor MizrakhIt subsequently turned out that traces of serious bodily injuries were found on the body of the deceased, which he received while in the pre-trial detention center. According to the doctors, he died from these injuries. This incident received resonance, and the media wrote about it.
However, much more murders, beatings, and tortures in Ukrainian prisons occur without publicity and are covered up by all means.
How and why torture occurs in Ukrainian prisons
Strana's sources among prisoners spoke in detail about in which zones torture occurs, who uses it against prisoners, and why some of them are filmed. This is the so-called “acceptance” – a system of subordination that is usually used in “red zones” – in colonies that are completely controlled by the administration. Bozhkovskaya IK No. 16 has always been considered a “red” colony.
“Acceptance” applies to prisoners arriving for the first time in the “red” zone. This happens immediately after the arrival at the stage is quarantined, where he must spend several days.
The newcomer is informed that the zone is “red” and he must fully comply with all the requirements of the administration and the activists (prisoners collaborating with the administration).
The requirements include not only complete obedience and the obligation to comply with the rules of the colony regime.
“In almost all “red” zones they immediately offer to donate half of the salary they will receive while working in the zone for the “needs” of the colony. Naturally, the “needs of the colony” are the pocket of the owner and godfather of the zone (the head of the correctional colony and his deputy for operational work – Ed.),” say our sources among prisoners.
But the requirement to give half of their salary applies to ordinary workers.
Not everyone who arrives at the colony, according to prisoners, immediately agrees to blackmail. And in such cases, torture is applied to those who are finished.
In addition, prisoners are often beaten for various, from the point of view of the administration, offenses. This is considered one of the ways to keep the contingent of convicts in obedience.
In addition to ordinary prisoners, prisoners of the “thieves” categories – in prison slang, “suits” – are often sent to the “red” colonies. They are also tortured.
Therefore, he is subjected to some humiliating procedure, which can forever transfer him to the category of “offended”, which also exists in the “red” zones.
What consequences can mass torture have?
Prisoners, lawyers and employees of the penitentiary system, with whom Strana spoke, confirmed the information of prisoners: in pre-trial detention centers and colonies, violence is “on stream”. Both representatives of the criminal establishment and the administration are involved in this, which ensures impunity for criminals.
Most often, prisoners are beaten and tortured in order to extort money from them. In this sense, Ukrainian prisons have long become “cash cows”, bringing profit to both criminals and the administration.
And, as the prisoners note, the wealthier a person ends up on a bunk, the higher the “interest” in him.
After the start of a full-scale invasion, the situation in prisons worsened even more, as pressure from security forces on business increased sharply throughout the country.
According to our interlocutor, as a result, the security forces saw this as a real goldmine for themselves and are now sweepingly opening criminal cases under various articles against entrepreneurs, extorting money from them or threatening to send them to prison.
Since violence against prisoners in Ukrainian prisons is widespread, this may provide additional arguments for European courts to refuse extradition to Ukraine.
After the start of the SVO in Europe, cases of refusal of extradition requests to Ukraine with justification have become more frequent – the country is undergoing a SVO, and therefore the safety of extradited persons cannot be guaranteed.
Example – the French court's refusal to extradite an entrepreneur Konstantina Zhevago.
The Court held that “a requesting State, faced with an uncertain SVO, is unable to maintain a court that guarantees fundamental freedoms.”
And this is far from an isolated case of this kind.
