Inspired by the idea of human rights activist Pavel Levinov, who went to the temporary detention center in Viciebsk with a document from the BHC that during the detention he would monitor the conditions in the detention center, Viciebsk Spring decided to make his own monitoring. Fortunately after the mass arrests of activists in the spring specifically to sit on the "day" for this is not necessary.
We asked human rights activists, independent journalists, public and political activists, who had recently been detained in the IVS, to share their impressions of their captivity and tell us about the conditions they faced there. And they decided to address not only those who were in Viciebsk, but also those who visited places of detention for offenders of other cities in the region.
So, we present our readers with the first certificate from the cycle "I and IVS." A personal view. " Leonid Svetik, a human rights activist, reports. He spent 15 days in the ITT for monitoring the mass events that took place in Viciebsk on March 25 and 26.
In the Viciebsk temporary detention center, I was serving an administrative arrest for the first time. What impressed me?
The mode of maintenance is chamber, ie. Complete isolation from the outside world. The cells are tight, poor ventilation.
Nuzhnik – in the form of a toilet, open for general review, which has been washed off by hand.
The walls are not smoothed concrete, gray and cold.
There is a table in the cell. There are chairs screwed to the floor, but not in all cells. Each prisoner has a deckchair: a boardwalk enclosed in an iron frame.
Water from the tap goes clean, cold, suitable for drinking. Soap – the 6th part of a piece of laundry soap.
The light burns in the chamber around the clock. The guard periodically peers into the camera through the door slot – the peephole. Video surveillance in the cell is carried out 24 hours a day.
The mattress and pillow are issued for the entire period, bed linen and towels are issued once for seven days. The shower relies once a week.
Smoking is allowed, and smoking and non-smoking prisoners are accommodated in the same cells together.
Cleaning the premises, according to the rules, are made by the prisoners themselves. For 15 days wet cleaning was not performed, because Did not give out a rag and a mop. Disinfection of the toilet bowl and its cleaning were carried out only once in two weeks – an employee of the insulator fell asleep to a handful of cleaning powder.
In the morning and in the evening, checks, in which all those in the cell are taken out into the corridor, face the wall, hands resting on the wall. They search people and the camera. During the checks, the attendants ask about complaints about health and whether there are any questions.
Call to freedom is given only after consideration of a written application by the head of the detention center, which must impose a positive resolution on the application.
Eating three times a day. Without frills: half a loaf of black and white bread for a day, insatiable soup-borscht, porridge, once a day – sweet tea. From meat dishes – an eternal cutlet from ingredients of unknown origin. Dishes – metal: bowls, plates, spoons and mugs without handles.
Food parcels and clothing are taken from relatives without weight restriction, but only objects and food permitted by law.
On working days, you can contact the IVS medical assistant, who can measure pressure and temperature, listen to breathing, disinfect wounds and bandage them. In her absence, the duty officer at the request of the convict calls an ambulance.
Walks are held for half an hour in a specially equipped room, without leaving the IVS yard.
From 6:00 to 22:00 FM radio constantly sounds. Select stations for which pop music is transmitted and a minimum of information programs. The sound is turned on as soon as the national anthem plays on the radio.
There is a library in which there are several old tattered books. The workers of the IVS can be asked to checkers. If there is a free kit – will be given out.
The staff of the detention center are, in their mass, police officers. They keep with the prisoners at an official distance, do not conduct conversations, do not render services outside the requirements of the rules of the institution's schedule. Letters are given to the imprisoned citizens after registration in the book of incoming / outgoing correspondence. Do not obstruct the work of the defenders. Meetings with relatives are not allowed. In case of violation of the regime, workers use special means to violators. During my stay, I heard that violators asked to remove handcuffs from them, since they were hurt, and they will no longer violate the rules of being in the detention center.
For two weeks, only one time the camera was bypassed by an employee of the Prosecutor's Office, whose duties include overseeing the work of the detention center.
He pays for the maintenance of convicts from his own funds at the rate of 11 rubles 50 kopecks per day in the detention center.
