Russia: abuse in women’s prisons

The human rights activist Eva Merkacheva gathering information of abuse in women’s prisons

 

14.01.2025

 

Article published on the ASI website

 

According to Merkacheva, labour laws are being flouted in women’s correctional facilities, with detainees finding it hard to access medical care.

 

Speaking on her Telegram channel on 4 January, Eva Merkacheva, a Human Rights Council member and human rights activist, reported that a number of women were released on parole by the Russian courts on New Year’s Eve, together with those who have completed their sentences.

 

Merkacheva has been in touch with a number of them and so is aware of the current state of women’s prisons. She has found that in some institutions:

 

  • It is difficult to obtain medicines;
  • There are inadequate supplies of clothing;
  • There are on average four sinks, four toilets and one shower for 100-120 people;
  • There are violations of labour legislation.

 

“All the women said that they regularly worked in a sewing factory from eight in the morning until nine in the evening, with little or no time off at weekends or during public holidays (for some reason being told: be glad you’re not in Mordovia – it’s even worse there). This of course is illegal but prisoners cannot prove that labour laws have been broken and nor can I”, Merkacheva wrote.

 

According to the human rights activist, only supervising bodies such as the prosecutor’s office or the Federal Prison Service can substantiate such claims. In order to do this, Merkacheva needs to collect corroborating evidence to submit to these agencies. You can send her information under your own name.

 

Source: https://asi.org.ru/news/2025/01/14/eva-merkacheva-sobiraet-fakty-narushenij-v-zhenskih-koloniyah/?utm_order_number=1

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