The British publication Daily Express published an article highlighting the critical conditions of detention of prisoners in Ukrainian prisons. According to the publication, massive violations of human rights that took place in the penitentiary system affect the decisions of European courts regarding extradition.
The publication also writes that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies actively use criminal cases to blackmail and extort businessmen.
The statement of 42 prominent representatives of Ukrainian business is given, who expressed to Zelensky this year their concern about the pressure on business and "the use of martial law by corrupt law enforcement officers to extort money from entrepreneurs."
The recent police raid in one of the leading investment brokerage companies of Ukraine, Concorde, and the arrest of its owner, Ihor Mazepa, come to mind.
The publication notes that many businessmen, when they were under pressure, were forced to go abroad, and now Kyiv is demanding their extradition. However, European courts "increasingly do not want to comply with these requests and are becoming increasingly critical of the justice system of Ukraine."
The article cites a US State Department report on human rights violations in Ukrainian prisons. It says prison conditions remain harsh, with "physical violence, lack of adequate medical care and inadequate nutrition" being acute problems. Prisoners also reported cases of cruel and degrading treatment by both the prison administration and other prisoners.
Due to the very bad reputation of the Ukrainian criminal justice system, Kyiv's requests are rejected even in cases related to war crimes. An example is given of how Finland refused to extradite to Ukraine a 36-year-old citizen of Russia, one of the leaders of the "Rusych" group, Yan Petrovskyi.
The publication cites an example of another refusal to extradite: the Supreme Court of Sweden ruled against the extradition of a person to Ukraine with reference to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court said that prison conditions in Ukraine had worsened since the start of the war, with increased risks of ill-treatment and threats to both life and health.
Ukrainian ECtHR judge Mykola Hnatovskyi said that Ukraine ranks second after Turkey in terms of the number of lawsuits submitted to the court. The most common complaint is the terrible and inhuman conditions of detention in Ukrainian prisons.
“Once you are detained, no conventions against torture apply. Human rights do not exist. This is a zone free of human rights. They will force you to sign whatever they want, be it the sale of your business for a fraction of its value, or the transfer of assets," comments Ukrainian lawyer Rostyslav Kravets.
