Pavlo Petrenko: Government established Special Commission for monitoring human rights in institutions of confinement

The Government of Ukraine has unanimously decided to establish under the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine a Special Commission, which will conduct the monitoring of conditions for inmates in pretrial detention facilities and corrections institutions and will conduct rights observance in these institutions. This was started by the Minister of Justice of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko during a press point.

According to him, the Special Commission will have the right of access to detainees and prisoners in any prison and pretrial detention facilities in Ukraine. This body will include MPs, representatives of human rights organizations, the Ministry of Justice and Penitentiary Service of Ukraine.

"In fact, we give an opportunity to human rights organizations to obtain direct contact with detainees for the first time in order to record the facts of ill-treatment from the side of prison administrations. So, the creation of the Special Commission is a first step to reform the prison system," Pavel Petrenko noted.

By turn, MP Iryna Lutsenko announced her participation in the Special Commission, and among other things, the Commission shall to initiate the series of amendments to existing legislation.