The resident of Mahiloŭ, whose son is serving a sentence in colony No. 8 in Vorša, applied to the editorial office of belsat.eu, where, according to the woman, psychological and physical pressure is exerted on him.
The woman called herself Lyudmila Vladimirovna and complained that recently letters had not come from the colony from her son.
"And suddenly a letter comes not from the colony, but from another, civil address. The son said that the administration forces convicts to sign some documents, and for refusal they put it in the punishment cell. The insulator is bullied, does not give out bed linen, mugs, does not lead to the yard, letters and transmissions are prohibited. I'm sure there is physical impact, but my son does not write, he's afraid to upset me," she says.
"The son and everyone who is there, ask for help. The colony does not explain anything to me."
The woman says she applied for explanations to the Department of Corrections, but there "refused to take any measures".
Lyudmila Vladimirovna refuses to state the name of her son, as well as the article on which he sits, because he is afraid that because of publicity, the pressure may intensify.
The lawyer of the Viasna Human Rights Center, Valentin Stefanovich, described how often complaints are received about the poor attitude towards prisoners in Belarusian prisons, as well as what to do to relatives of prisoners who faced pressure:
"With pressure on prisoners, we come across quite often. And, unfortunately, it happens that complaints get to human rights activists too late. There are cases, as a result of some actions of the administration, people die in prison. And then it begins: it opens and then closes things, it can last for years. Before the trial it was possible to bring only the case of Igor Ptichkin. Therefore, it is very important to respond in a timely manner," says Stefanovich.
The human rights activist offers relatives of prisoners complaining of pressure to take the following steps:
First, one should turn to a human rights organization, for example – HRC "Viasna".
Secondly, it is necessary to write complaints to the prosecutor's office at the location of the colony, since the prosecutor has the right to inspect the correctional facility in order to learn about the situation or the conflict.
Thirdly, glasnost can work as a plus. Human rights activists are advised to contact journalists for information support.
Fourthly, it is possible to involve international institutions. If information is received from the convicts about torture, relatives should send an appropriate appeal to the UN Commission against Torture. In turn, the Commission appeals to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, where they are obliged to provide relevant information. Then the special rapporteur includes the recorded cases of torture in the report.
As for the "compulsion to sign certain documents", it is most likely a question of a written obligation to observe the regime of the colony. As explained by Valentin Stefanovich, in this document there is nothing terrible from the beginning.
"The problem is that these papers contain a standard formulation such as" I fully admit my guilt, "but there are convicts who consider themselves innocent. If a person insists on his innocence and refuses to sign this agreement, he is immediately appropriately certified – "the person did not take the path of correction." In fact, people are punished with an insulator for refusing to admit guilt."
According to official statistics on the website of the Supreme Court, as of the first half of 2018, 20,236 people were convicted of all criminal cases. At the same time, 4,951 of them were sent to places of deprivation of liberty.
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