The Zona Prava (‘Zone of Law’) Human Rights Organization published a report on the rights' impairment of women under administrative arrest. According to human rights activists, women need to be ensured with the right to privacy, provided with personal supplies, and allowed to take a shower more often. Representatives of the organization gave the report to 7x7 on July 21.
According to the author of the report, lawyer Danil Nurgaleev, the authorities of Western countries refuse to impose administrative arrests, they prefer fines instead. In any case, administrative arrests are used in Russia including against civil activists.
Nurgaleev's report is based on the experience of female activists who had to be under administrative arrest in a special detention center. They reported that they had to deal with constant video surveillance and the inability to change clothes privately. At the same time, they did not have bras, because they were seized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (as they had underwire). In addition, due to some special features of the rooms, cameras in some special detention centers sometimes show what is happening in toilets, or bathrooms do not have partitions and doors.
The activists drew attention to the fact that women were not always told about their right for personal supplies. Nurgaleev notes in his report that women should get 10 units of them per person every month, but this number may not be enough.
Another claim mentioned in the report points out legal restrictions on taking a shower. According to the law, it is allowed from one to three times a week which is not enough to practise body hygiene, especially in summer.
Zona Prava gave some recommendations to the Russian Interior Ministry in the report. Human rights activists demanded the surveillance of women’s cells only by women, significant increase in the number of issued personal supplies, replacing squat pans with regular toilets and installing bidets, ensuring the privacy of the bathroom, and allowing women to take a shower every day.
You can read about the daily life of women in the penitentiary system in blogger Natalya Donskova's post about how lesbians live in Russian prisons.
