Prisons in Ukraine are regulated by the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine that is part of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
There are 32 preliminary prisons, 131 penitentiary establishments for adults and 8 colonies for minor criminals in Ukraine.[1] According to Amnesty International torture and ill-treatment by the police is widespread in Ukraine.[2][3] Several police officers have been arrested for allegedly torturing detainees.[4]
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In early 2010, there were over 147,000 people held at prisons and more than 38,000 at pre-trial detention facilities in Ukraine, which is three times as many as in Western European countries[5], and half as much as in the United States. In 2009, the number of inmates in Ukraine rose for the first time in seven years, there was also an increasing number of instances of suicide and HIV contraction at penitentiary institutions. 761 died and 44 inmates killed themselves in 2009, the number of suicides in 2008 was 40.[5] Between 1996 and 2001, about 26 percent in various prisons across Ukraine tested HIV-positive. In a January 2006 study, between 15 and 30 percent of prisoners tested HIV-positive.[6] Early 2005 rates of up to 95 percent of the prisoners were found Hepatitis C positive.[6] in 2011 6,000 inmates had HIV and 5,500 suffered from an active form of tuberculosis.[7]
Various inmates have been kept in pre-trial detention for up to 12 years, as there is no legal limit.[7]
Convicts in Ukrainian prisons work 7 or 8 hours a day, except for weekends.[8] Prisoners get to keep part of the money raised from the sale of the items they produce.[8] They are limited to four pairs of shoes.[8] Computers, cell phones and other electronic gadgets are strictly forbidden in jail.[8] Bathing may be limited to once a week.[8]
According to the US Department of State Human Rights Report 2009 conditions in prisons and detention facilities in Ukraine are harsh and the pretrial detention was seen as arbitrary and lengthy.[9] According to Amnesty International allegations of torture and ill treatment in police custody increased in 2010.[3]
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