Paul
Goble
Staunton, October 3 – In the wake of
scandals in the Russian prison system including torture, lack of medical care,
and other kinds of abuse, Vladimir Putin has fired the system’s head, FSB general
Gennady Korniyenko, an action that has
sparked numerous proposals for change and intense skepticism that the Kremlin
will make any fundamental changes.
The most comprehensive discussion of
possible reforms is to be found in a 55-page report prepared by Olga Shepeleva
of the Center for Potential Administration Decisions (civil-forum.ru/upload/medialibrary/ff6/Преступления
и наказания.Что не так с российскими тюрьмами.pdf ) which is summarized at https://newtimes.ru/articles/detail/185890?fcc.
The legal scholar notes that the
Russian prison system is enormous, with more than 3.5 times as many people
incarcerated per capita than in Europe. More than half of them are recidivists,
and almost a third are behind bars for what some call “victimless crimes” like
drug use.
One of the reasons the prison system
has grown so large is that Moscow spend far less than European countries do on
prisoners, only two percent as much as they in fact. Every fifth complaint to ombudsmen in 2018
was related to the lack of timely medical care or other shortcomings in basic
services for prisoners.
Almost no money is spent on
rehabilitation, and the militarization of the prison system militates against
that as well. Shepeleva says that one of the first things that has to be done
is to take the prisons away from the force structures and the management of them
away from FSB officers and put them in civilian hands.
Two other major problems which need
to be corrected as soon as possible include long pre-trial detentions which
leads to overcrowding and the exposure of many who may be innocent to criminals
and the failure of the judicial system to use other forms of punishment than
incarceration and its unwillingness to release people early.
Such changes, however, would be both
expensive and requires a fundamental change in culture not simply among jailors
but among the political elite which makes use of them and sets the tone for
their actions. As a result, many
commentator say that no change in Russian prisons is likely anytime soon (rosbalt.ru/russia/2019/10/04/1806131.html).
Gennady Gudkov, a former Duma deputy
and opposition politician says, that Russia’s prison system is “a horror and
shame to Russia. This would be a shame for any state which respects human
rights and even elementary human norms.” What exists in Russia today is a
system which has survived from a time when those behind bars weren’t treated as
people.
“But,” he adds, “I do not believe
that there will be any changes while Vladimir Putin is in power. It seems to be
that the Federal Penal System is an instrument of political clout and
repression. And I do not think that anyone is seriously interested in a
significant reform of this system,” at least not anyone who has the power to do
something about it.
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