Believe corrected – Newspaper Kommersant No. 226 (7427) dated 12/06/2022

The Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption of the State Duma recommended that the Parliament adopt the bill “On Probation in the Russian Federation” in the first reading. The document was developed by the Ministry of Justice and provides for a number of types of social adaptation of citizens, both those who have already been released from prisons and those who are still serving sentences. Member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights (HRC) Eva Merkacheva believes that the law should be finalized with an emphasis on “participation in the process of civil society”, but some of its shortcomings can only appear in the process of introducing a probation system into the work of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

“Behind the unfamiliar term ‘probation’ is a system of measures to support and socially adapt citizens who are serving or have already served a criminal sentence,” Vasily Piskarev, head of the Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, said on Monday. The draft of the Ministry of Justice was recommended by him and his colleagues for adoption in the first reading. “For a person who is released after spending several years behind bars, the support of the state and society is very important so that he does not roll down an inclined plane again,” Mr. Piskarev specified.

The parliamentarian noted that the introduction of a probation system in the Russian Federation involves helping convicts, both those serving sentences and those already released, “in solving problems with living, getting an education and a new profession, getting a job, searching for relatives.” “Psychological assistance is also provided,” he added.

The Ministry of Justice presented the draft law “On probation in the Russian Federation” in April, after which the text was finalized for six months “taking into account the proposals received” by human rights activists. In November, the government submitted a draft to the State Duma. In it, as Kommersant reported, the Ministry of Justice decided to “endow” one of the structures of the Federal Penitentiary Service – the penitentiary inspections (CII) with “authorities in the field of probation”. Today, PIIs deal with “persons convicted without isolation from society.” The Federal Penitentiary Service reported to Kommersant that in Russia there are 81 penitentiary institutions “and 1348 of its branches”, which include more than 486 thousand people (including more than 25 thousand people released on parole). It is the PII (and the Federal Penitentiary Service as a whole) that will coordinate the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Education and Science on the issues of social adaptation of convicts.

The bill provides for three types of probation: penitentiary, executive and post-penitentiary. The first is intended for those sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment. It involves “carrying out social and educational work”, “providing psychological assistance” and “preparing for liberation”. According to the plan of the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Penitentiary Service will attract volunteers who will help in “restoring and strengthening social ties” of convicts. This type of probation also provides for obtaining secondary vocational education, employment, opening an individual personal account, providing free travel from the colony and clothing, as well as a one-time cash allowance.

Executive probation is provided for those sentenced to punishment not related to deprivation of liberty. People who have committed a crime against sexual integrity will also be able to count on it if they “suffer from disorders of sexual preference”. Rehabilitation measures in this section have not yet been developed, the draft only mentions psychological support, employment and education, as well as the possibility of attracting NGOs, religious and public associations, scientific and medical organizations to participate in the work.

Post-penitentiary probation, according to the project of the Ministry of Justice, is the adaptation of “those who find themselves in a difficult life situation” after being released from the colony. The Ministry of Justice has not yet specified support measures for this category of citizens either, however, it indicated in the draft that the “period of application” of such probation “cannot be more than one year from the date of the start of the implementation of measures”, and the “measures” themselves should be developed by the Federal Penitentiary Service “individually”.

According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, as of October 1, 453,188 people were in places of deprivation of liberty, including 338,078 people in correctional colonies. HRC member Eva Merkacheva, who participated in the development of the Ministry of Justice project, points out that it is “very difficult” to calculate the number of people who need probation. Ms. Merkacheva also believes that the draft should be finalized by the second reading, taking into account the increased role of NGOs and civil society in probation programs: “It is simply necessary to involve people, so to speak, civilians, because representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service sometimes do their work for show, and it’s a completely different matter when caring people are involved in helping. Ms. Merkacheva believes that the shortcomings of the bill can be seen only at the stage of introducing the probation system into the work of the Federal Penitentiary Service: “The law can be as good as you like, but pitfalls may appear at the execution stage, especially since nothing like this existed in Russia before.”

Maria Starikova