In Russia, the prisoners are dragged around

Prisoners transported across Russia face different forms of ill-treatment. The train compartments are often overcrowded because their belongings have to be carried with them as no provision for baggage is onboard. The lack of basic needs such as access to toilets when the train is stationary is denied. The waiting period can go up to eight hours. Access to medication has been restricted therefore prisoners with severe illnesses are particularly at risk. 

The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has inherited a network of penal colonies from the Soviet GULAG which are located in sparsely populated parts of the country (precisely the Far North and Far East).

This has become a structural problem: prisoners must be transported over great distances to reach the colonies. The final location remains unknown and the vehicles are hard to locate. Therefore, prison monitoring bodies and lawyers rarely see inside the train carriages.

There is no obligation on the prison authorities to inform the prisoner’s families or lawyers that they are being transported until after they arrive at their final destination. This puts prisoners at greater risk. Furthermore, this distance impedes visits from their family members and hinders their rehabilitation.

Conditions in Russian penal colonies are harsh and usually the visits of relatives bring the much-needed medications and food.

The practice of sending prisoners far away is a tradition that was established centuries before. This tradition structures the unique penal culture in Russia by combining imprisonment and exile.

The report states that although the Russian authorities have made progress towards reforming the prison system in order to bring them in line with international human rights standards, they still need to invest in a significant restructuring by building penal institutions closer to the greater cities. 

Read full report on Amnesty international, available in english and russian language.