Monitoring of human rights in places of forced detention in the Republic of Abkhazia has been published
5 July 2023
In accordance with the Law on the Commissioner for Human Rights, from January 18 to February 28, the Commissioner for Human Rights conducted monitoring of places of detention of detainees, pre-trial detention, institutions serving sentences by convicts in order to study the conditions of detention of suspects, accused and convicted.
During the monitoring, the Commissioner visited a Special Receiver of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, the FAC of the Department of Internal Affairs for the district of Sukhum, the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Gal’s district, the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Gagra district, as well as the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the city of Sukhum.
The places of forced detention investigated by the Commissioner, according to their characteristics and conditions of detention of prisoners, mostly do not meet the minimum standards established by the legislation of the Republic of Abkhazia and international norms, primarily because all places of forced detention in Abkhazia were built during the Soviet period and their operational reserve has long been exhausted. Moreover, they are built according to the rules and regulations in force at that time, which also do not meet modern standards.
General conditions of detention, hygiene, nutrition, medical care — these are the main criteria that were assessed during the monitoring.
According to the employees of the administrations of places of forced detention, the number of cells and beds in them is not enough to hold people, especially in the summer, when the number of offenses and crimes increases due to the tourist season. This problem is also related to the fact that not all cells function in these places of forced detention.
In all places of forced detention, there is no adequate and necessary/full-fledged medical care for suspects and accused, no initial medical examination is carried out upon their admission, since the current legislation does not provide for such a procedure.
In her conclusions, the Commissioner notes, that detention in such conditions does not serve as achieving the purpose of punishment — to correct the convicted person and prevent him from committing new crimes. Getting into such conditions, a person cannot rethink what he has done and first of all tries to adapt, adapt to such living conditions that can contribute to the dehumanization of his personality, its further marginalization and criminalization.
Based on the monitoring results, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was offered recommendations to improve the situation in places of forced detention, including:
- to provide those held in places of forced detention with conditions that meet the minimum standards established by the legislation of the Republic of Abkhazia, as well as international documents;
- to organize free three meals a day for persons held in places of forced detention in the regions of the Republic of Abkhazia, as required by the Law "On Detention of Suspects and Accused", since the state has no right to impose such a duty on relatives and friends of prisoners;
- to provide proper conditions in places for walking: to bring the covering of such places into proper condition,тas well as to equip them with canopies for walking in adverse weather conditions, benches and urns;
Monitoring is directed:
the President, the Speaker of the People's Assembly, the Prime Minister, the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Health.
You can read the full text of the monitoring in the attached document.
During the monitoring, the Commissioner visited a Special Receiver of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, the FAC of the Department of Internal Affairs for the district of Sukhum, the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Gal’s district, the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Gagra district, as well as the TDS of the Department of Internal Affairs for the city of Sukhum.
The places of forced detention investigated by the Commissioner, according to their characteristics and conditions of detention of prisoners, mostly do not meet the minimum standards established by the legislation of the Republic of Abkhazia and international norms, primarily because all places of forced detention in Abkhazia were built during the Soviet period and their operational reserve has long been exhausted. Moreover, they are built according to the rules and regulations in force at that time, which also do not meet modern standards.
General conditions of detention, hygiene, nutrition, medical care — these are the main criteria that were assessed during the monitoring.
According to the employees of the administrations of places of forced detention, the number of cells and beds in them is not enough to hold people, especially in the summer, when the number of offenses and crimes increases due to the tourist season. This problem is also related to the fact that not all cells function in these places of forced detention.
In all places of forced detention, there is no adequate and necessary/full-fledged medical care for suspects and accused, no initial medical examination is carried out upon their admission, since the current legislation does not provide for such a procedure.
In her conclusions, the Commissioner notes, that detention in such conditions does not serve as achieving the purpose of punishment — to correct the convicted person and prevent him from committing new crimes. Getting into such conditions, a person cannot rethink what he has done and first of all tries to adapt, adapt to such living conditions that can contribute to the dehumanization of his personality, its further marginalization and criminalization.
Based on the monitoring results, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was offered recommendations to improve the situation in places of forced detention, including:
- to provide those held in places of forced detention with conditions that meet the minimum standards established by the legislation of the Republic of Abkhazia, as well as international documents;
- to organize free three meals a day for persons held in places of forced detention in the regions of the Republic of Abkhazia, as required by the Law "On Detention of Suspects and Accused", since the state has no right to impose such a duty on relatives and friends of prisoners;
- to provide proper conditions in places for walking: to bring the covering of such places into proper condition,тas well as to equip them with canopies for walking in adverse weather conditions, benches and urns;
Monitoring is directed:
the President, the Speaker of the People's Assembly, the Prime Minister, the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Health.
You can read the full text of the monitoring in the attached document.