Officials and social activists discussed the implementation of the law “On Probation”

On Thursday, at the RF OP, representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Federation Council, as well as various NGOs discussed the implementation of the Federal Law “On Probation”. Its goal is the social adaptation of convicts, their inclusion in normal life after serving their sentence. The Ministry of Justice called the law unique and admitted that they were counting on the help of non-profit organizations. The NGOs themselves stated that they helped prisoners socialize even without the law.

The law provides for three types of probation: executive – for people whose punishment does not include isolation from society; penitentiary – for convicts who are in prison; and post-penitentiary – for those who left the colony. Law was signed by the President in February 2023; From January 1, 2024, it will come into force in the part relating to executive and penitentiary probation. The provisions that apply to released citizens will take effect on January 1, 2025.

Representative of the Ministry of Justice Maria Vorobyova said at the conference that there are no analogues to Russian law in the world, so legislators and law enforcers have nowhere to gain experience. She asked social activists to help government agencies in this matter.

“It is unknown how much work will arise after the law comes into force. It is doubtful whether the Federal Penitentiary Service has enough staff and strength to fully carry out this activity,” said Mikhail Orlov, adviser to the Children’s Ombudsman’s Office. He added that in Russia there are not enough NGOs “that deal with this topic.”

However, representatives of non-profit organizations said that they are already helping convicts return to society. Thus, the Prisoner Assistance Fund opened several rehabilitation centers at women’s correctional colonies. There, convicts can exercise, learn everyday skills, and meet potential employers.

Veronika Barsukova, assistant at the legal department of the Ministry of Education and Science, said that the department also wants to participate in the work: “The law does not classify the Ministry of Education and Science as a direct subject of probation, but this does not mean that the ministry is not involved in this process in any way. Education is one of the goals of probation.” Ms. Barsukova noted that universities have high autonomy and the ministry cannot force them to interact with the Federal Penitentiary Service. At the same time, the department conveys to them information about the importance of creating conditions for convicts to receive higher education. “As part of the interaction, some problematic issues were revealed,” she warned. “In accordance with the Federal Law “On Education,” those sentenced to forced labor or imprisonment are allowed to receive secondary vocational and higher education exclusively in absentia.” At the same time, a number of universities are ready to “organize full-time and part-time education for convicts using distance learning technologies”

At the end of the discussion, all proposals were collected into a resolution for further discussion.

“I don’t really understand what ‘the Russian law on probation has no analogues in the world’ means,” lawyer Irina Biryukova is perplexed. “This is absolutely not true. In Great Britain, the States, Germany, and the Netherlands, the institution of probation is used very widely. Perhaps the Ministry of Justice has something specific in mind, but when I studied this law, I did not see anything too unique.” Ms. Biryukova told Kommersant that she sees in the Russian law “both controversial and rather optimistic aspects.” “But, based on many years of experience working with a service such as the FSIN, I cannot expect something good right away,” she admitted. “I am afraid that locally this law can serve as a lever of pressure on convicts, and can also be used for corruption purposes ” The lawyer considers it important that “as many professional lawyers as possible, specializing in the topic of protecting the rights of convicted persons,” monitor the implementation of the law and can participate in this process. “This will help to understand all the weak points and somehow develop practice for the Supreme Court, which, I think, will inevitably publish a resolution of the plenum on the application of this law,” the lawyer concluded.

Emilia Gabdullina