The Ministry of Justice explained how e-books are issued to convicts

Russians who are in pre-trial detention centers or serving sentences in correctional institutions have the opportunity to read electronic books and download materials of their criminal cases onto electronic media (without access to the Internet). The Ministry of Justice explained to Kommersant that technical means for reading electronic books are on the balance sheet of the correctional institution and are provided “for temporary use in the amount of no more than one device per person sentenced to imprisonment free of charge.” Representatives of the Public Monitoring Committee clarified that e-books are currently on the balance sheet of correctional institutions and pre-trial detention centers, largely thanks to the efforts of human rights and charitable organizations. And representatives of the legal community insist on the need not only for a serious technical and economic study of the initiative (storage, maintenance, repair, replenishment of devices), but also for detailed regulation of the procedure for using electronic means as repositories of criminal case materials.

Russian convicts and prisoners were allowed not only to buy e-books in the store, but also to download them “to electronic tablets not connected to the Internet.” As Kommersant reported, this was announced by Deputy Minister of Justice Vsevolod Vukolov during a meeting with the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova on October 6. Mr. Vukolov added that now convicts and prisoners will be able to download not only books, but also materials from their cases onto tablets.

“Kommersant” sent a request to the Ministry of Justice with a request to clarify the details of the innovation. The department’s response states that technical devices for reading electronic books are on the balance sheet of a correctional institution (PI) and are provided “for temporary use in the amount of no more than one device per person sentenced to imprisonment free of charge (to those held in simplified or preferential conditions of serving a sentence, serving a sentence in colony-settlements) or provided to them by general educational organizations of subjects created at the institutions of the penal system, professional educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia.” “Providing information to convicts, suspects and accused contained on a technical device for reading electronic books, updating it, as well as monitoring its content on the specified technical device are carried out by the administration of the correctional institution or pre-trial detention center,” the Ministry of Justice added.

“The innovation is remarkable, but today most institutions have a maximum of one or two books on their balance sheets,” Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, commented on the changes to Kommersant. “There are colonies and pre-trial detention centers that do not have a single electronic book.” In addition, according to her, technical problems often arise: “Employees of some colonies and pre-trial detention centers told me that they have electronic books, but they do not know how to upload materials to them, what literature to put there and how to issue them. It’s good that step-by-step instructions are written down with the innovation – until it is there, this innovation will not be used.”

Member of the Public Monitoring Commission (POC) of Moscow, General Director of the Center for Promoting the Development of the Penitentiary System, Sergei Aristov added that electronic books are still on the balance sheet of correctional institutions and pre-trial detention centers, largely thanks to the efforts of human rights and charitable organizations. “We, as members of the Public Monitoring Committee and representatives of the Center for Promotion of the Development of the Penitentiary System, transferred 20 electronic books to women’s pre-trial detention center No. 6,” he says. “Later, other colleagues began to donate electronic books, and the situation is gradually changing.” Mr. Aristov calls for the creation of electronic libraries in the institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service: “A set of measures is needed for the initiative to fully work, and for this a budget must be allocated.”

“Kommersant” asked the Federal Penitentiary Service for information about the provision of correctional institutions and pre-trial detention centers with electronic books, but has not yet received a response.

The innovation also received a positive response from representatives of the legal community interviewed by Kommersant. Lawyer Alexey Laptev recalled in this regard that the volume of a criminal case often reaches tens or even hundreds of volumes. However, he does not yet understand how the initiative will be implemented in practice. “It is obvious that the use of an electronic tablet is an additional paid service provided by the administration of the pre-trial detention center or correctional institution,” the lawyer noted. “Thus, the availability of this service for the vast majority of prisoners will be determined by its cost, which has not yet been named.”

“It turns out that, unlike handwritten notes, a rented tablet with materials of a criminal case can be taken away almost at any moment,” lawyer Konstantin Rivkin continued this thought. “At the same time, one of the most important elements of the right to defense—to know the contents of the indictment materials—is placed on dependence on the availability of money in the personal account of the pre-trial detention center is at least strange.” Mr. Rivkin also noted that he was unable to find among his St. Petersburg and Moscow colleagues those whose clients in the pre-trial detention center use electronic equipment to store copied materials of the criminal case. “Declaring an opportunity and realizing it in practice are two different things,” the lawyer emphasized.

“If the FSIN is seriously concerned about the spread of electronic tablets in its system, then not only a serious technical and economic study of the issue is necessary (storage, maintenance, repair, replenishment, etc.), but also detailed regulation of the procedure for using them as repositories for criminal case materials,”— concluded Mr. Rivkin.

Emilia Gabdullina