Yoshkar-Ola prosecutor’s office on observation of law in correctional institutions of Mari El Republic has made representation to the chief of FBU IK-5 under UFSIN of Russia in the Republic of Mari El with a demand to eliminate violations, identified in the framework of the Public Monitoring Commission.

The reason of the check was the application of the Chairman of the Committee “Civil assistance” in Federal Service of Penal Executions in Russia. The application contained information that one of the convicts is detained in bad conditions in IK-5 of Mari El Republic.

On February 12, 2010 Public Monitoring Commission of the Republic of Mari El, the chairman of which is Sergey Poduzov, went to the FBU IK-5 of Federal Service of Penal Executions of Russia in the Republic of Mari El. As a result, it was found that windows of almost all cells are covered by upper clothing or blankets; there are wooden planks instead of a floor. In all cells there is no light. There is a high level of humidity.

Thus, the Public Monitoring Commission found violations of sanitary and epidemiological requirements in cells of FBU IK-5 of Federal Service of Penal Executions of Russia in the Republic of Mari El, and asked the prosecutor to take action to correct identified deficiencies.

It should be noted that human rights defenders previously drawn the attention of management to violations of sanitary norms in the isolation cells in FBU IK-5, invited the heads to solve the problem at the local level. But recommendations of the representatives of NGO “Human being and Law” were not met.