The small town of Zhodino in the Minsk region of the Republic of Belarus is famous not only for the BelAZ mining dump truck factory, but also for a special regime prison. Correctional Facility No. 8 contains the most notorious criminals, those who have been sentenced to life sentences. Many people call this place a sign of the “Lukashevsky” regime, the triumph of its dictatorship. Reviews about the prison number 8 in Zhodino are very contradictory, the relatives of the convicts speak about the unprecedented brutality of the staff, the staff claim that everything is within the law. Be that as it may, Prison No. 8 for life-sentenced prisoners functions and regularly receives new “residents”.
The question of life imprisonment
In Russia, there are special regime colonies for “life-long prisoners”, the conditions of detention are as strict as possible, but there are practically no prisons in the Russian Federation, just as there is no death penalty, a moratorium on it was introduced back in the 90s. In Belarus, the situation is different, the shooting has never been canceled there, and it is still used as an exceptional measure of punishment. The only derogation in favor of European humanist demands is the introduction in 1997 of a law on life imprisonment as an alternative to the death penalty.
According to the new law, it was required to ensure the creation of special conditions for a new category of prisoners, the construction and equipment of special regime institutions. So begins the story of prison No. 8 in Zhodino for life prisoners.
History
The prison building itself appeared in 1984, when the so-called LTP, a medical and labor dispensary, was created here. Persons with tuberculosis, syphilis and other serious diseases were serving their sentences at this place. A new round of the history of the correctional institution begins in 1992, when the LTP was reorganized into Detention Center No. 8 of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee.
With the introduction in 1999 of the Criminal Code article providing for life imprisonment, here in Zhodino, a corps was opened for convicts of this category. As in similar Russian "zones", this building is located close to objects with the usual regime of serving a sentence. Sentenced to life imprisonment can not work in the kitchen or any production, it turns out that the notorious killers, maniacs and terrorists have to be served by other prisoners, with a milder regime.
general information
To date, in prison number 8 Zhodino is about 1,500 people. Most of them live in pre-trial detention centers in the status of a person under investigation or convicted, awaiting departure by stage. 130-140 people are here on special, exceptional conditions, all of them were given the decision to replace them with an alternative, milder type of punishment, namely a life sentence. Although capital punishment is still being applied in Belarus, four similar sentences were passed in 2016.
All these people were convicted of the most serious articles, some of which provided for the death penalty, but for some reason the capital punishment was replaced by life imprisonment. Convicts in a special regime prison committed crimes against a person, some of them have not one or two ruined lives.
In addition to those under investigation and persons sentenced to life imprisonment, in the prison No. 8 of the Zhodino pre-trial detention center there is a squad of economic services. These are persons who have decided to stay in prison and work in jail. They carry out all the work in the kitchen, in the utility rooms and on the street. The medical unit is functioning separately.
Internal organization
The address of prison No. 8 of Zhodino is known to all local residents, it is located on the street. Sovetskaya, 22. The entire territory of the regime institution occupies a plot of 7 hectares, they are located six regime buildings and other related infrastructure. There are two separate walking yards for those under investigation and those sentenced to life punishment; for the bulk of the special contingent, an open courtyard is provided, where people are taken out for 2 hours.
Prison No. 8 in Zhodino is specially designed taking into account the special focus of activity, therefore, round-the-clock monitoring is established perfectly. The territory of the special prison is surrounded by a double line of security, the entire perimeter is viewed by video cameras and the latest alarm system. The interiors are connected by concrete corridors with iron doors, an alarm is made everywhere. An attempt to escape from this place is simply impossible.
Personnel
Prison No. 8 in Zhodino is a special-purpose sensitive facility, which is why the selection of employees here is special. Of course, there is nothing for a person with weak nerves and a disregard for work. Although at the first time the prison’s work throughout Belarus there were persistent rumors that all unprincipled and cruel guards who were practicing beatings and bullying of convicts were driven here. This information has not been officially confirmed anywhere.
Security here is at such a high level that employees can enter here only on special passes, even between the inside rooms.
Pretrial detention center
The pre-trial detention center and Zhodino Prison No. 8 with life prisoners are in the same room, this fact greatly affects the general atmosphere and conditions of detention of the defendants. Anyone who has ever fallen into these walls tells everyone about the depressing atmosphere, the terrible attitude of the staff and the overcrowded cells. In total, pre-trial detention center No. 8 of Zhodino may contain over 1,500 people of different sexes.
Where to find the contacts of the institution? Phones of Prison No. 8 (SIZO) of Zhodino can be found on the VKontakte social network. Here, the relatives of the convicts share any information about the conditions of serving the sentence of their relatives, the time of the visit, and also solve personal issues. The group is called Detention Prison No. 8 of Zhodino.
Conditions of detention in jail
According to one of the laws of the Republic of Belarus “On the procedure and conditions for the detention of persons”, certain standards are established for all institutions of this kind. At least 2.5 square meters are assigned to each convict, and up to 4 square meters for women with children. meters square. Each person should be provided with a separate berth and individual linen.
According to all existing norms and international laws, mandatory measures must be taken to place convicted persons in cells: women must be imprisoned separately from men, minors from adults, repeat offenders from first-time offenses, etc.
According to reviews of those who have ever been in jail, the main problem of Belarusian prisons is overpopulation. Some convicts complained that they had to sleep on the floor for several days or while sitting, until their own bunk was allocated. These data are also not confirmed by the Belarusian government.
Prison internal regulations
Prison No. 8 Zhodzina for persons serving life sentences has a number of differences in terms of order and conditions of detention from the usual regime. First of all, this concerns the rights to move convicts; they cannot carry out any independent actions outside the cell. They move along the corridor, bent over in half, with arms outstretched back in handcuffs, fingers should be spread out.
In the cell itself there is a bed screwed to the floor, a stool and a chair, it is possible to listen to the radio. Oversight is carried out around the clock, the inspector must observe the behavior of the convict every 15 minutes through the eye. The walk is laid once a day for half an hour, the walking patio looks like a camera with a net instead of a ceiling.
Life sentenced to life imprisonment
Rise at 6:00, exercise, breakfast, lunch and dinner, personal hygiene. In the daytime, convicts are allowed to move around the cell, sit on a chair or bench, sit or lie down on the bed. They can watch TV all day, from 6.00 to 22.00 (only those channels that are allowed by the administration of the institution).
Books sent from the local library were sentenced to life-sentenced prisoners, and the leadership notes that criminals even begin to read classics - Dostoevsky, Bunin, Pushkin. Many try to get an education or begin to learn foreign languages, the law gives them such a right. The administration does not prohibit convicts from correspondence with relatives and new acquaintances. Often there are correspondence novels; there have been cases of marriage in prison history.
The life prisoner in prison No. 8 of the Zhodino pre-trial detention center was assigned once a year in the form of a parcel of up to 30 kg, two visits of 4 hours each. Twice a month, the convicted person has the right to purchase goods in a prison stall by bank transfer. Long meetings are categorically forbidden, although after the adoption of a law in Russia on the possibility of dating to continue the family, Belarusian human rights defenders also made a similar proposal.
Features of the penal system of the Republic of Belarus
The Belarusian penitentiary system, like the Russian one, implies measures to re-educate convicts. This refers to the European doctrine, which states that through a humane attitude and upbringing, the criminal will be able to reconsider his views on life and return to society by another person.
This statement is very controversial whether maniacs, cannibals and killers can change - this is a difficult question. Be that as it may, even for life-sentenced prisoners, employees are taking all measures to re-educate notorious criminals. The activities of the staff are aimed at creating a favorable atmosphere for the health of the spirit of the convict. For many people, life imprisonment was a real gift, because otherwise they would have been sentenced to death.
Scandals
Prison number 8 in the city of Zhodino more than once became an occasion for discussion in the Belarusian media and other foreign publications. Especially often, the topic of life-sentence prison is used in articles by opposition groups denouncing the tyranny of the incumbent president. So, several years ago, an article appeared in the network of one of the “prisoners” of the pre-trial detention center, who spoke about the atrocities of employees. Upon arrival, new convicts were passed through the ranks of guards with batons, which they indiscriminately beat every newcomer.
Former political prisoner Valery Levonevsky in his letters spoke about the complete arbitrariness of the prison staff and the inaction of the leadership, which is releasing everything on the brakes. He also spoke about violations of the legal rights of convicts, saying that their complaints and statements did not reach the addressee. All these and other publications were mainly aimed at discriminating against the image of the incumbent president and his government.
In 2015, a scandal erupted around the death of one of the convicts Oleg Bogdanov, he died in the walls of prison No. 8 of Zhodino, whose address is: ul. Sovetskaya, 22. The man had a heart condition and, according to his mother, as well as according to his own letters, he did not fully receive medical assistance. Parents tried to prove the negligence of the staff of the correctional institution, but the prosecutor's office refused to initiate proceedings because no illegal actions were committed.
Contact Information
The address and telephone numbers of Prison No. 8 of the Zhodino Pre-trial Detention Center, as well as additional information related to the internal routine and rules for visiting, can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. The prison is located: Minsk region, Zhodino, st. Soviet, 22.
Additional contacts of prison No. 8 in Zhodino can be found in groups specially created by relatives on the Internet, for example, VKontakte, as well as on the forum Association of Wives and Relatives of Prisoners.
Interesting Facts
According to Belarusian law, a life-sentenced person, subject to certain conditions, can count on early release. For this, he should not have serious comments on compliance with internal regulations or other violations. In this case, after ten years, he can be transferred to more comfortable conditions of detention, where more transmissions, dates are laid, a living space is provided instead of a cell. Ten years later, the convicted person has the right to file a petition with the court for parole.
Prison No. 8 of Zhodino is a unique place, this is the only correctional institution in Belarus, which simultaneously contains prisoners under investigation, ordinary prisoners and those who were sentenced to life imprisonment. There are no more objects with a special regime in the country.
About 45% of the total number of people sentenced to life imprisonment are young people from 20 to 30 years old. All of them convicted of aggravated murder.