Mistreatment and torture in women’s penal colony №4 Gomel

The International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus has presented its new investigation. From today it is available in Belarusian, Russian and English.

Over the course of several years, the Committee’s team of documentarians, lawyers, and analysts has been recording and analyzing testimonies from former prisoners who served unlawful political sentences in the Homiel Correctional Colony No. 4 (IK-4). Their investigation uncovered numerous egregious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity.

The testimonies provided by witnesses allowed us to construct an accurate and sometimes shocking picture of what really takes place within the walls of the women’s correctional facility in Homiel. Through the eyes of the inmates, we gained insight not only into the living conditions but also into the labor conditions and internal disciplinary measures imposed on women at IK-4.

In the course of this investigation, we meticulously examined the histories and witness statements of 20 former political prisoners who served unlawful sentences at IK-4 between May 2021 and February 2024, reviewing a total of 1,818 pages of text.

«The combined sentence time of these women at IK-4 amounted to 314 months, with the average stay per inmate lasting 15.7 months. All of the political prisoners documented by us were sentenced after the 2020 presidential campaign, – said Sergey Ustinov, co-founder of the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus. – Throughout our investigation, we found evidence that prisoners at IK-4, in retaliation for their political stance, were indeed sometimes held in torturous conditions and subjected to unbearable treatment. For example, correspondence with relatives was blocked, fabricated infractions were assigned, they were detained in punishment cells (SHIZO and PKT), communication with other ‘political’ prisoners was forbidden, medical assistance was deliberately withheld, threats of violence were made, they were forced to write requests for pardons, subjected to humiliating searches, denied visits with family, restricted in receiving parcels, and subjected to both physical and psychological pressure…».

And this is by no means an exhaustive list of the abuses and inhumane treatment uncovered by the Committee in the course of its investigation into the conditions within IK-4.

The authors of the investigation report on cases of repression and at times inhumane treatment by the prison administration towards political prisoners, using the words of women who have left IK-4 after completing their unlawful sentences. This approach allows the investigation to present a substantial portion of the report in the form of direct quotes from former “prisoners of the regime.” According to the authors, this method best conveys the psychological and physical states of the women who endured time in IK-4.

«Our investigation provides a detailed description of the living conditions for women, work conditions in the colony, and the conditions in punishment cells (SHIZO and PKT). We also describe, in detail, all forms of ‘repression’ that women endure at IK-4, – commented Elena, a lawyer with the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus. – We have dedicated a separate chapter to identifying those responsible for the abuse of women at IK-4, naming them with full titles, ranks, and positions. Based on the testimonies of former political prisoners, we documented specific actions committed by individual prison staff against them».

The authors of the investigation would be grateful if their findings could serve as the basis for journalistic reports, thereby helping bring perpetrators to justice and raising international awareness of what is happening at IK-4.