On behalf of the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Chechen Republic visited the Dimitrovgrad prison in the Ulyanovsk region in order to verify information about the discrimination of convicted citizens of the republic.
During his visit, he personally met with the management of the Federal Prison Service and Correctional Facility, the district commissioner and the prisoners themselves.
Earlier, various sources of information reported that convicts had been humiliated for religious reasons. The guards reportedly tore the holy Quran and prisoners were forbidden to fast and pray.
Mansur Soltaev received all the materials from surveillance cameras, and he also checked the conditions of detention of prisoners from the Chechen Republic. The inspection showed that the facility has created acceptable conditions for the performance of religious rites, in particular, prisoners can read the Koran in cells, there are prayer rugs. Moreover, according to the condemned themselves, they are allowed to fast and practice their religion.
So far, the official version of the Federal Prison Service has reported that the riots in the prison did not occur for religious reasons, but because of the calls received from prisoners. He also learned about the deliberate damage to CCTV cameras by the inmates. These actions by a group of prisoners required the involvement of departmental special forces.
The spokesman interviewed people who cut their wrists during the conflict and started a hunger strike. They complained about strict prison rules, poor medical care, failure to receive packages for the prisoner, and restrictions on family visits. These complaints were examined by the Defender, who immediately started checking them and taking remedial actions with the participation of supervisory authorities.
At the personal request of the Ombudsman, the Prosecutor’s Office and investigative bodies deal with the incident and are waiting for a legal assessment of what happened. M. Soltaev keeps the matter under personal control. According to him, there is no visible oppression on the grounds of religion: no one has torn the Koran, which is absolutely confirmed, also by the convicts themselves.
The Commissioner recalled that the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, attached great importance to the implementation of the right to worship and the protection of religious values. According to M. Soltaev’s conclusion, the Chechens convicted in this case were used by provocateurs to cause widespread public outrage.
In talks with the inhabitants of the Chechen Republic, the Ombudsman called on them to strictly adhere to the norms of behavior established by law in prison. He emphasized that with appropriate observance, the implementation of the right of this category of citizens to parole and transfer of the convict to correctional facilities located closer to the place of residence of the closest relative is simplified.
At the same time, Mansur Soltaev received assurances from the regional leadership of the Federal Prison Service that negative practices against the prisoners of Dimitrovgrad prison would be ruled out if confirmed. The head of the Federal Prison Service for the Ulyanovsk Oblast was ordered to check reports on violations of the rights and legitimate interests of convicts and to inform about their liquidation.
An agreement was reached with the management of the Department and the prison on the constant monitoring of the personal safety of convicts, as well as the legality of the application of disciplinary measures.
Mutual understanding was achieved between the prison management and prisoners.
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