First conference of Public Supervising Committees’ members: “Formation of a system of public control

The Conference “Formation of a system of public control in Russia”, aimed at exchange of experience among members of regional Supervising Committees, attracted attention of human rights activists (Lev Ponomarev, Valery Borschov, Igor Sazhin, Liubov Vinogradova, etc.), journalists, lawyers, representatives from Federal Penitentiary Service, Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Federal Ombudsman, Ministry of Education, and General Prosecutor Office of the Russian Federation, Public Council, and For Human Rights Committees.

The participants discussed first results and perspectives of Public Supervising Committees’ work in Russian regions. The Committees were organized in accordance with a newly law on public control over the places of forced imprisonment aimed, passed May 2008, 21 and approved by  Federation Council on May 2008, 30.

According to this law, public control over observance of the rights of detained persons, arrested persons and prisoners is to be carried out by the regional monitoring commissions, and assistance to persons in detention is to be carried out by public associations. The basic forms of assistance as written in the document are the participation in making decisions on questions of labor, domestic devices, health services and social security.

The participants developed a set of recommendations on support of work of regional Supervising Committees, including financial support. They appealed to the State Duma and Federation Council with the proposal to write additions to the Federal Law №76 “On public control…”

On a proposal of a representative of Supervising Committee of Komi Republic Igor Sazhin (left) members of regional Committees should check all the temporary detention facilities over the Russian Federation for the purpose of revelation of existence of so called “shuba” on the walls of detention centers (a kind of thorns on the walls).

By December 2009, 10, human rights activists of the Russian Federation are planning to set up an all-Russia Association of  Supervising Committees’ members.