Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation with the participation of the leadership of the State Criminal Enforcement Service of Ukraine exposed cases of systematic torture of prisoners in Poltava SIZO.
The investigation established that the employees of the institution abused persons who refused to cooperate with the administration, violated the regime or filed complaints about the actions of the staff. For this, a special room was equipped in the medical block, which was used as a place for torture.
In this small facility, prisoners were tied to a metal bed, without food, water or access to a toilet for several days. One of the victims testified that he had been abused more than ten times in the past three years.
Recently, DBR operatives documented another case of bullying. Suspicions of torture (Part 3 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) were raised against two employees of the institution – the duty officer and the senior officer of the regime and security department, who directly brought the victim to the premises and tied him to the bed.
Currently, the issue of applying a preventive measure in the form of detention to them is being resolved. Under this article, punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years is provided. Investigative actions are ongoing in order to establish all the circumstances of the case and determine the full range of persons involved in torture. Procedural management is carried out by the Poltava Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
