The members of Public Monitoring Committee for implementation of social control over human rights in places of detention of the Murmansk region can’t get in the remand prison №1 of Murmansk for almost 2 hours.
“We are not allowed to enter, giving as a reason that the prison staff can’t provide us an escort. Right now they threaten with the arrest or calling the police,” PMC member Vyacheslav Paykachev telephoned «7x7», “even though we have all the powers to visit places of detention anytime without hindrance, notifying of our visit administration institution in advance. Today we informed about our coming one and a half hour before the arrival. But... we were not allowed to enter.
As a result, members of the PMC were given a document stating that they will be able to visit the prisoners today after 6 p.m. Human rights activists believe this is a flagrant violation. However, they are to accept this juncture of events and plan to go back to jail tonight.
By the way, a press conference was held today where Sergei Golubok (the lawyer of "Greenpeace International") told about the problems of people accused of piracy. According to his words, many wards are very cold, and activists, especially from Brazil and Argentina, are waiting for the polar night and disturbance in bodily rhythms in terror. A lot of activists started having health problems but they are not allowed to get vitamins — which are equated to medicinal drug and need doctor's permission. The doctor says that permission is not required, and doesn’t sign it. In addition, many activists have problems with access to potable water. Water is not transmitted at all or counted to 30 kg monthly permitted by law. And the water that people are given in the remand prison must be boiled to become appropriate to drink; but access to water boilers is also a problem. Also, there are video surveillance systems in many wards that cover even the toilets, and the members of the ship "Arctic Sunrise" will experience great discomfort. Well, the language barrier creates a lot of problems of course. For example, detainees have the right to call their relatives, but talking on the phone they should only speak language understandable to prison staff. For shopping in the prison store and taking a book in the library it is necessary to write an announce in Russian language which not many foreign citizens can speak.
«7x7» reports about the results of the visit to the remand prison as soon as they become known.
