Why is the system of government in Belarus actually a system of oppression?
Why does the correctional system of Belarus not work?
Correctional institutions are created not only to punish criminals, but also to rehabilitate convicts, adapt them to society in order to strengthen and develop it.
But something went wrong in Belarus. And instead of rehabilitation and adaptation, people who passed through "correctional" institutions need resocialization and help.
Together with Artyom Praskalovich, who is responsible for internal policy and state management of the National Academy of Sciences, we analyze the gods of the correctional system of Belarus.
The system of execution of punishments
As it is: the system of execution of punishments is subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. "Re-educate" belongs to the same people who tried to imprison a person. It makes no sense to complain about the guards - "colleagues" from the Investigative Committee will investigate the case.
How it should be : The system of execution of punishments should be subject to a civil authority, as in most democracies of the world.
Control of correctional institutions
As it is : "Public control" of correctional institutions in Belarus is carried out by the Republican Public Monitoring Commission. But it is created under the Ministry of Justice and is fully subject to the policy implemented in the state.
How it should be: Civil society in the form of free media, human rights defenders and NGOs form a system of independent public control. In accordance with the field of activity, they defend the educational, labor and other rights of both society as a whole and vulnerable categories of the population.
Competition of correctional institutions
As it is : There are no private correctional facilities. Only the state system works.
How it should be : Private correctional institutions can be a reference for public ones to improve the lives of convicts and promote resocialization.
Private prisons operate in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and Sweden. In France, since the 1990s, there have been prisons with mixed private-public management: they are built and maintained by private contractors, and the state controls and supports the convicts.
Unemployment in Belarus
Unemployment, the economic crisis, the absence of a public community that usually criticizes the government and identifies problems, generally do not give the convicts a chance to prepare for life in freedom.
There are no jobs in the country even for people who do not have a background of serving a sentence. But with an article behind you, it is generally difficult to find a job.
Special treatment of political prisoners
Political prisoners are given new terms in the last days of their sentences to break their will and leave people dangerous to the regime behind bars.
Human rights activists know of more than ten cases when new criminal cases were initiated against former political prisoners after their release and they were again sent to prison for new terms.
Poor conditions of serving the sentence
And also:
Prevention of relapses
Actually starts only after release. But preventive measures are more like intimidation than adaptation to normal life (read the post about restrictions after release) .
Even the head of the supervisory department noted the lack of systematicity and comprehensiveness in educational and preventive work with persons after release, as well as with those serving sentences not related to imprisonment.
All this proves that people who have passed through "correctional" institutions need rehabilitation and a full-fledged support system afterwards. Instead, those released remain without work and, as a result, without means of livelihood, but with the stigma of being an ex-convict, which is not conducive to resocialization.
What to do?
The mission of the Volnyja initiative is to help free political prisoners of Belarus to return to a full life in society. We will do everything possible to restore the strength of Volnyja after the "corrective" system.
