Six employees of a pre-trial detention center in the Poltava region will be trialed for torturing a prisoner

The employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have completed an investigation into six employees of the Poltava detention center who brutally tortured a prisoner. 

The indictment has been sent to the court.

According to the investigation, one of the prisoners expressed dissatisfaction with the conditions of detention. The head of the regime and security department decided to “teach him a lesson” and ordered to create a “torture chamber”. For this purpose, a special room was set up on the premises of the medical unit. The victim was handcuffed to a metal bed, and his legs were tied with ropes. He was left without food, water, or access to a toilet for more than 24 hours.

The head of the department watched the torture on video surveillance monitors and personally checked on the process, periodically entering the room. When the prisoner tried to loosen his shackles, the head called his subordinates to tighten them again.

To cover up the crime, prison staff attempted to delete the video footage, but the employees of the State Bureau of Investigation managed to find copies. In total, the investigation involved nine searches, 56 interrogations, eight expert examinations, and 19 reviews of video recordings and material evidence.

An indictment has been sent to court against the head of the department, the deputy head of the institution, three senior officers, and a junior inspector of the security and guard department. All of them are accused of torture (Part 3 of Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The article provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment. Two of the defendants have already been released, while the rest have been suspended from their positions.

The procedural guidance is provided by the Poltava Regional Prosecutor's Office.