Monitoring of the case of Vladimir Miroslavovich Pakholok (09/15/2020)

On September 15, 2020, the Frankovsky District Court of Lvov considered the case in criminal proceedings number 12020140080001455 on the suspicion of Pakholok Vladimir Miroslavovich of committing theft with penetration into the premises provided for in Article 185, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Based on the materials of the pre-trial investigation, 08/28/2020 Pakholok V.M. in order to steal someone else’s property, damaged the front door and entered the storeroom of the Communal non-profit enterprise “2nd city policlinic in Lvov” and stole property for 1924.62 hryvnias.

Criminal proceedings on the suspicion of V.M. Pakholok was considered by the investigating judge Kuz V.Ya. The International Society for Human Rights is starting to monitor this case.

The course of the hearing. Investigator Segeda M.M. filed a petition for the application of a measure of restraint to the suspect Pakholok V.M. in the form of detention for a period of 60 days. The investigator referred to the existence of risks under Art. 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, in particular, that the suspect may later hide from the pre-trial investigation authorities, as well as commit another criminal offense. Pakholok V.M. is previously convicted for committing crimes against property, including serious ones, the previous convictions have not been canceled in the manner prescribed by law. In addition, during 2019 and 2020, a number of indictments against V.M. Pakholok were sent to individual courts of the city of Lvov and the Lvov region.

The prosecutor of the Lvov local prosecutor’s office Burdin S.N. fully supported the petition of the investigator Segeda M.M. and asked to satisfy it.

The suspect Pakholok V.M. at the hearing explained that he does not care what decision will be taken by the court. He also said that he was registered with the probation department for previous sentences. The suspect also said that he had evidence at home that he is sick with tuberculosis, there was a certificate from the place of detention and a birth certificate.

It should be noted that subsequently the question may arise about the need for treatment of V.M. Pakholok. if the court applies a measure of restraint in the form of detention. Conditions of detention in Ukraine have often been found by the European Court to be in violation of Article 3 of the ECHR. In addition, the Court notes factors such as overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in cells and their negative impact on the health and well-being of persons in detention for a long time (“Kalashnikov v. Russia”, “Florea v. Romania”).

However, the International Society for Human Rights recognizes that the suspect knew (according to him) about his illness before the alleged criminal offense. This does not relieve the state of the obligation to ensure an adequate level of health care, but this fact must still be subsequently taken into account by both the national court and the European Court of Human Rights, in case of application.

The ECtHR considers that it is unacceptable to leave prisoners in an institution where there are no adequate means for adequate treatment of tuberculosis, or denying them access to such means. In addition, the inaccessibility of adapted conditions of detention, combined with the failure to isolate healthy prisoners from those suffering from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, can not only cause physical and mental suffering to prisoners requiring treatment, but also contribute to the spread of the disease and have serious negative consequences for all prisoners in general. In such cases, the ECtHR highlights a violation of Article 3 of the Convention (case “Logvinenko v. Ukraine”, paragraphs 76-77).

The judge, taking into account the statement of Vladimir Pakholok that he had tuberculosis disease, made a decision to elect the suspect a measure of restraint in the form of detention for 8 days to enable the pre-trial investigation body to collect documents that would characterize and identify a person, including documents on the state of health of the suspect Pakholok V.M.

The next hearing is scheduled for 10/29/2020 at 4:30 pm. Experts from the International Society for Human Rights continue to monitor this trial.