SIZO-7 was opened in 1992, and before that (back in Stalin's times, in 1952) there was a camp point in its barracks, then a correctional colony and a medical and labor dispensary for the compulsory treatment of alcoholics.
At the end of 2015, SIZO-7 was closed, prisoners and employees were transferred to other institutions, and the construction of a new building for 402 places began on the territory of the isolator.
“But the building of this beautiful new building was never completed, only the premises for the utility unit were ready, and in the summer of 2018 the Moscow Federal Penitentiary Service announced that SIZO-7, after reconstruction, was accepting prisoners again,” said Alexey Melnikov, executive secretary of the Moscow POC.
He stressed that the reconstruction was the renovation, mostly cosmetic, of the Stalinist barracks.
SIZO-7 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Moscow
© fsin-atlas.ru
“When we arrived there in the spring of 2019, many of the cameras were already in a deplorable state.
In one of the cells, located under the shower, water generally flowed from the ceiling, traces of leaks were visible in others (cells -
RT
), the prisoners complained about the terrible stuffiness, ”the human rights activist recalls, adding that POC members visited the“ seven ”buildings and other detention centers pending the introduction of a ban on round-trip rounds in March 2020.
Now meetings with prisoners are held in the investigation rooms.
No entry
“Now, under the far-fetched pretext of combating the pandemic, we are still not allowed to inspect the cells, although employees, investigators and lawyers come to the isolation wards every day.
We can now judge the situation in the pre-trial detention center on the basis of the appeals of the prisoners, and they claim that mold has appeared on the walls in the cells of this isolation ward, there are no refrigerators, and the new building is still abandoned, "said the interlocutor of RT.
SIZO-7 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Moscow
© fsin-atlas.ru
Alexey Melnikov noted that he regularly receives complaints from other POC isolators that there are not enough sleeping places in the so-called quarantine cells intended for new arrivals, and prisoners awaiting the consideration of appeals are taken to other regions, depriving them of the right to full-time participation at the hearing and assistance of lawyers.
“And all this the Moscow Federal Penitentiary Service explains by the need to unload the capital's pre-trial detention centers,” Melnikov explained.
In the wrong position
At RT's request, the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments was told that "the initial deadlines for the construction of the new building were not met, including due to the deterioration in the financial situation of the company that carried out the construction work."
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The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation does not name the deadlines for the completion of the construction and commissioning of the building, only informing that the issue of changing them is being considered, and the readiness of the facility at the moment exceeds 90%.
At the same time, the Federal Penitentiary Service claims that as of June 29, 2021, the Moscow pre-trial detention center "with the limit of 8999 places actually contains 8956 citizens, there is no overlimit in individual institutions either."
From Moscow to the regions
The material and technical base of Russian pre-trial detention centers has long been worn out, many of them were built not even in Stalin's times, but in the 18th-19th centuries, and some even earlier.
They are not subject to reconstruction, they need to be closed and new ones built.
This opinion was expressed in an interview with RT by Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian division of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.
“In Cheboksary, SIZO-1 was built in 1648, its walls are 82 cm thick, and it is very difficult to make repairs there.
And after all, at the end of the twentieth century, they were going to close it, make a museum, and build a new one in return, ”the human rights activist says.
Detention facility No. 1 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Chuvash Republic, Cheboksary
© cheb.ru
According to him, the Cheboksary isolation ward is not the only one in this row.
SIZO-1 in Rostov was built in 1768, in Tula SIZO-3 celebrated its 250th anniversary, in Serpukhov, near Moscow, the isolation ward is located in the premises of an ancient monastery.
The expert notes that the conditions of detention in old prisons are extremely difficult.
“The Novocherkassk SIZO is also one of the oldest.
From there, complaints were received about the threats of collapse and dampness in the cells, about the terrible quality of the water: sometimes it comes from storage tanks, where there is silt, slugs.
The punishment cells are located in basements, which were used at one time for executions.
There were complaints about the cold in the cells, at times such that people were forced to sleep not only in clothes, but also in shoes.
In such conditions, 2,000 people are being held, including women, ”the human rights activist noted.
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In his opinion, out of 209 Russian pre-trial detention centers, more than a quarter cannot be repaired.
Wear insulation
For his part, Andrei Babushkin, chairman of the commission on reforming the penitentiary system of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, told RT that dilapidated pre-trial detention centers in Russia are being closed.
“But closing all the old isolation wards is a complex issue that needs to be studied.
On the one hand, the new ones will have better conditions of detention, on the other, transport accessibility is deteriorating, it is more difficult for relatives and lawyers to get there, ”he said, adding that cell premises wear out five times faster than residential ones due to the constant change of inhabitants.
One of the most pressing problems Babushkin considers is the overpopulation of isolation wards in a number of regions: Moscow, the Moscow region, the Nizhny Novgorod region, the Krasnodar Territory and the Crimea.
It is from them that prisoners are sent to other regions pending consideration of cases by courts of appeal, in fact, depriving them of the right to full protection.
Detention facility No. 6 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Krasnoyarsk Territory
© fsin-atlas.ru
Refrigerator instead of shields on the windows
The head of the specialized commission of the HRC believes that conditions in isolation wards often depend on the heads of these institutions.
“In the new pre-trial detention center-6 in Krasnoyarsk, each cell must have a refrigerator, a TV set and a fan, but in most of the country's isolation wards there are no fans and air conditioners - the premises are not prepared for the heat. In Kursk, in the women's isolation ward, they also hung shields on the windows under the pretext that half-naked women would not be seen through the windows. There are no refrigerators - for example, in the Oryol pre-trial detention center, one for ten cells, ”said the human rights activist, promising that the council would seek approval of new standards, according to which the presence of refrigerators, fans and televisions would become mandatory.