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MONITORING OF CUSTODIAL SETTINGS IN UKRAINE:
PSAFU guardhouse in Kyiv
•
absence of toilets in the cells;
•
detained and convicted military are
not allowed to use mobile phones and
e-books.
Monitors were much concerned by visit
to Clinic of Psychiatry at the Main Military
Clinical Hospital of the Armed Forces of
Ukraine, located in Kyiv. During the visit
it was found that treatment of patients
practically amounted to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment. Specifically,
1. Privately interviewed patients allege
that staff of the clinic, especially
orderlies, sometimes resort to unlawful
psychological pressure and threats to
apply restraints, such as sedatives or
straitjackets;
2. Patients are not allowed any outdoor
exercise and are confined to the
premises of the clinic throughout their
examination or treatment (on the
average - up to 21 days);
3. There is no free access to the toilet
room (which is opened by the duty
staff as per a schedule for 15 minutes
every hour);
4. The constitutional rights and freedoms
of conscripts under examination for
future contractual service are violated.
In particular, this category of military
personnel is wrongly subjected to
the same very stringent restrictions
that apply to the patients of the clinic.
For 21 days (the standard term of
examination) they are not allowed to
go out into the fresh air, to exercise, to
freely call their parents or others, and
are restricted in terms of visits, access
to books, television and radio.
5. Psychiatric examination and care are
carried out without personal consent
of the military, conscripts or employees
of AFU.
The Instructions on compulsory preliminary
and periodic psychiatric examinations at
hospitals of the Ministry of Defense and in
the Armed Forces of Ukraine (approved by
MoD Order of February 14, 2006, No. 81)
were found to contravene the Law of Ukraine
“On Psychiatric Assistance”. According
to the Instructions each commanding
officer has the right to refer a military to an
extraordinary psychiatric examination at an
appropriate mental health facility without
his personal consent or a court decision.
This violates the fundamental principle of
voluntary psychiatric treatment and creates
grounds for abuse. Thus, in the course of
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