How to behave in a pre-trial detention center for the first time? Rights of prisoners and rules of conduct Criminal lawyer

Behavior rules

What are the rules of conduct in a pre-trial detention center ?
Don’t take this as a joke, but the more dignified you behave in a pre-trial detention center, the more comfortable your time spent here will be, in most cases. What does “more worthy” ? The same as in the life remaining on the other side of the door of this unattractive establishment.

There is no need to throw yourself on the chest of the guards or the guard on duty receiving you, shouting about your innocence. You may be mistaken for a mentally ill person and end up in a punishment cell . You are here, which means the detention was authorized and, albeit erroneously, you were taken into custody. The extent to which justice was missed will be determined by the investigation and the lawyer, and your task is to survive the period as comfortably as possible, during which your future fate will be decided.

That's why:

Behave calmly when questioning the duty officer.
Do not try to offend the staff: soon you will have to establish contact with some of them to communicate with relatives.
During the inspection, do not try to refuse to communicate with the doctor or hide something or jewelry. Wristwatches, cigarettes, lighters are also permitted items. It’s better to voluntarily hand over the rest of the contents of your pockets for inventory - it will be safe. It seems that they want to take away your product without having the right to do so? Demand to present a document prohibiting the detainee from having the subject of the dispute at the time of his stay in the pre-trial detention center.
Stop trying to look for a “vest” or a “friend” among other detainees - everyone here is completely strangers . A subject who persistently asks about the circumstances of the case, family details or some “intimate” details of life is most likely not a “shirt guy”, but a person looking for profit or an informer.

General procedures and daily routine

A pre-trial detention center is essentially a transitional stage for the accused between a temporary detention center and a colony. This is a place where people are held against whom a criminal case has already been initiated, but a sentence has not yet been pronounced. Sometimes they have to spend quite a significant period of time there while the court hears their case.

The internal regulations in the pre-trial detention center are ensured by the administration and employees. They are responsible for everything that happens within this institution and are required to report on how they carry out their immediate responsibilities.

Prisoners are required to follow a number of rules regarding them:

follow all orders that come from them;
show them respect, and not try to influence them psychologically or humiliate their honor and dignity;
do not try to interfere with employees doing their work during construction;
Under escort you must walk with your hands behind your back.

Prisoners must follow the instructions given to them by jail staff.

The general rules include the following:

convicts are required to follow the established daily routine;
they should not neglect personal hygiene and basic sanitation rules (this includes keeping themselves and their cells clean and tidy);
treats all property of the institution with care;
treats other prisoners with respect and does not try to humiliate or insult them in any way;
participate in cleaning cells according to the schedule;
Communication with all citizens (and employees, and other prisoners) must be carried out without the use of jargon or obscene language ;
Do not cover the camera lens or lights in the camera;
exchanging clothes and other items among themselves is prohibited;
It is not allowed to take medications without the permission of the medical staff and to have larger quantities of them than for 1 day of use;
Communication with other prisoners using prohibited methods is strictly prohibited.

How to behave in a pre-trial detention center for the first time?

Unofficial rules of conduct

From the threshold, greet others with restraint and politely, and inquire about free space for placing things.

Talk to the “supervisor” - the chamber “boss” , who will definitely ask about your real and assigned name ( nickname ), the article under which you are accused, your attitude towards lovers of non-traditional sex.
There is no need to use swear words during a conversation or try to “fan out your fingers.” Everything said will be double-checked by local word of mouth; if any lies are discovered, you will have to explain yourself and answer to the fullest extent of the local law. After the conversation, the newcomer will be shown where he can find a place to rest.
If you are a man with homosexual tendencies, then in order to minimize the number of unpleasant words addressed to you, you need to inform the officer on duty so that he takes this fact into account when placing you in a cell. If there is no possibility of placing you with cellmates of the same sexual orientation, when communicating with the “supervisor” it is better to immediately say about your inclinations . This will not add honor, but it will help avoid punishment for concealing such a fact. Because “gays” in the world of prisoners have to live, observing a number of “taboos”: shaking hands with “traditional” people, using the things of other inmates, sitting at a common table.

Other unofficial rules of conduct

It is forbidden:

Sit down on someone else's bed (bed) without the owner's invitation.
Swear, communicate in a raised voice (boister).
Use the toilet when one of the inmates is eating.
Taking or touching things or products that do not belong to you.
Eating food that fell on the floor.
Use things dropped in the toilet (bowl) or trash can.
Intrude into a conversation without invitation.
Shake hands with “homosexuals” (“offended”, “roosters”), take their things. Ignoring this rule, even once, leads to an irreversible decrease in social status and automatic transition to the “untouchable” caste.
Fight, kick (all controversial issues are clarified with the involvement of a “supervisor”).

Need to:

Share the contents of the food parcel (there is no need to post everything at once) and invite fellow inmates to a common meal.
Wash in swimming trunks and shorts (to avoid touching your genitals to someone else’s body and vice versa).

Official Rules of Conduct

It is forbidden:

communicate with prisoners in other cells through correspondence and other means;
leave any premises without the permission of your direct superior;
go beyond the object zone line;
engage in the production and use of intoxicating substances and liquids;
gambling for selfish purposes;
draw tattoos;
unauthorized repair of the camera, lighting devices, communication lines, plumbing, etc.;
throw objects out of windows, interfere with observing the situation in the cell through the “peephole” ;
disrupt the daily routine.

Why are they transferred from cell to cell in a pre-trial detention center?

During the initial transfer to a pre-trial detention center, the accused, along with other detainees, is transferred to a “settlement cell” - a room where prisoners are kept before the initial inspection .

After inspection and surrender of valuables, they are transferred to a transit cell . Afterwards, she is sent to the shower to have her fingerprints taken, and then, having been given the things required in custody, she is transferred to a permanent cell .

Transfer from a permanent cell to another in the following cases:

threats to the life of the accused;
the need for punishment (in a punishment cell);
prescribing long-term treatment;
carrying out repair work in the chamber.

Where can I appeal the actions of the administration of the pre-trial detention center?

By contacting:

prosecutor's office,
court,
The Commissioner responsible for human rights in the Russian Federation,
European Court of Human Rights
leadership of the Federal Penitentiary Service,
Duma employees (deputies).

According to the rules, the management of the pre-trial detention center does not have the right . Complaints and statements sent to bodies that do not have supervisory rights to control the work of the pre-trial detention center are authorized to be censored by postal workers at the pre-trial detention center.

Even in prison there are people living. Moreover, according to the laws, which to the majority of those who have experienced them in action seem much more effective and fair than those existing in ordinary life.

Is it possible to read books in prison?

As you can guess just from the fact that this text exists, reading in prison is not prohibited, but for prisoners who (almost) do not have the Internet and the ability to walk to the nearest store, there are a number of restrictions that affect the choice of literature. Official censorship, special requirements for electronic books and the limited capacity of prison libraries complicate the life of bibliophiles in pre-trial detention centers and colonies. But first things first.

Censorship

According to Article 95 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, a prisoner has the right to receive books in parcels or purchase them through a retail chain, as well as subscribe to newspapers and magazines at his own expense. However, among the publications that enter pre-trial detention centers and colonies, there should not be anything that promotes war, incites national hatred, or contains pornographic and erotic content. But it's official. If we are talking about prohibitions, then the scope of the law expands greatly, and often any books on martial arts, geographical maps, manuals on survival in the natural environment and textbooks on dog breeding fall into disgrace. In addition, the authorities of a pre-trial detention center or colony may simply not accept books that seem suspicious to them. Thus, in some places of detention, detective stories by Daria Dontsova and Alexandra Marinina are prohibited, and in some places books on psychology are not allowed.

“The restrictions are basically absurd. I ordered a book by the greatest Russian psychiatrist Bekhterev, which was called “Hypnosis,” but they didn’t let it in just because of this word. I told the librarian: “You know who this is.” You know he’s a scientist.” To which they answered: “These are the rules, the intelligence department will not let you through.” There is also a simply absurd ban on any literature with maps inside, including atlases. They allegedly help organize the escape. Well, you see, yes, a map of the world will help you escape from prison,” says Roman, a prisoner in one of the Moscow pre-trial detention centers, and host of the book blog bookozavr.

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Libraries

Each pre-trial detention center and each colony has its own libraries, but their contents vary. Not all prisoners understand the value of books, so many publications quickly wear out. Rare and high-quality books, if they end up in prison libraries, linger for a long time in the same hands. Basically, the content consists of classics and decommissioned publications.

“Our library has a good collection. Most of it, of course, consists of books published back in Soviet times. The classics are presented quite well: both world and Russian. Dumas, Dovlatov, Twain, Ilf and Petrov, Hugo, Tolstoy, London, Nabokov, Remarque, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Maurois, Pushkin, Steinbeck, Shalamov, Exupery and others. All this can be found in the library. Contemporary authors known to a mass audience also appear. Detective stories, science fiction action films, and other pulp fiction are very common. One day I came across Limonov’s book “It’s me, Eddie,” and I was quite surprised,” says Yuri, a prisoner and host of the telegram channel “Zhitel MLS.”

Material on the topic Educational Why read modern literature?

However, there is little more or less modern, high-quality literature in prisons. Very few librarians really think about what books are in their department and whether prisoners need them. And after tougher requirements and growing fear of extremism, pre-trial detention center employees often try to simply get around the problem - and choose a proven classic.

Volunteers can also add to the prison library, but anyone who wants to donate books there will have to follow the rules:

“Books can be donated as charitable donations under agreements, by finding samples of them on the websites of pre-trial detention centers or by attending an appointment with the management of the institutions. Books must have receipts; it is advisable that the books be new. If you negotiate on large quantities, then the educational service will handle the books in the pre-trial detention center,” explains Anna Karetnikova, leading analyst at the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Moscow, author of the book “The Route.”

Libraries are often replenished at the expense of prisoners themselves. According to the law, each prisoner can have up to 10 volumes with him, and he must either deposit any “excess” in a locker with personal belongings or leave it in the local library. Sometimes prisoners in pre-trial detention centers and colonies bring very unusual books with them.

“Recently a man was brought to our cell; he brought with him 8 or 9 books on philosophy. Here are Jung, Nietzsche, Aristotle, Plato, Feuchtwanger, Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein…” says Roman, a prisoner in one of the Moscow pre-trial detention centers and the host of the book blog bookozavr.

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Book delivery

Theoretically, a prisoner can receive books in a personal package from family and friends, as well as through the trading network. However, everything depends on the place of detention. Some pre-trial detention centers are afraid that books in parcels may contain inappropriate content, various inserts, or be saturated with any substances. In short, the witch hunt is in full swing, so it’s safest to order through retail chains. But this does not guarantee that the book will be delivered:

“My comrades ordered two books for me. They came to the post office to which our colony belongs, and happily stayed there for a month. Since none of the colony employees responsible for receiving correspondence from the post office to the camp took the books, a month later the postal workers sent the books back. The impression was that the FSIN employees were not even aware that this option for obtaining books existed in principle,” says Yuri, a prisoner and host of the telegram channel “Zhitel MLS.”

The main “supplier” of books in the colony is OZON, which directly delivers them to places of detention. Not so long ago, according to human rights activists, the Kaluzhskoye Federal State Unitary Enterprise began selling books.

E-books

This is a separate page in the history of the war of human rights activists and the system. Since 2021, devices on the balance sheet of pre-trial detention centers “without the ability to access the information and telecommunications network Internet, as well as without removable storage media and the possibility of photo, video and audio recording” are allowed. However, in reality, no one has provided prison libraries with electronic books, and the guidelines issued by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, according to which the device is an electronic book, are so vague that they can be interpreted infinitely broadly.

Printed publications

Well, one more sad thing: despite the fact that the law does not prohibit prisoners from reading printed newspapers and magazines, it does not regulate how quickly they should be delivered. Roughly speaking, if publications from two years ago are brought into the cell, then the rules will formally be followed, and nothing can be done about it.