"In general, our Constitution stipulates that the health and life of a person is the highest value for the state. And that's why there is already such a bug here: why are we talking about some kind of reward for heroism, and not just social justice for the victims?

Regarding the work of the commission: it was repeatedly noted that there should be a certain balance between the way people write statements, that the statement should not be completely empty and without evidence, a person should express and explain his information about himself or his relatives in a reasoned and consistent, logical manner . But the commission should also, in the event that it does not have enough information or documents, inform about the reason for the refusal in a normal and motivated manner, so that the person can correct it, if he can add or change something.

Currently, this is a constant guessing of the wishes of the commission. Unfortunately, a court hearing and a court appeal will not help here, because the court recognizes the commission's discretion and simply returns the applications for reconsideration.

What we think is negative is that it takes time. People after captivity need urgent medical assistance, urgent rehabilitation. They do not have time to wait for years for the commission to consider, for the court to appeal, for the commission to consider again. So the victims have an absolutely normal desired reaction: go abroad and forget about it.

My opinion is strengthened from one analytical report to another: in my deep conviction, this service of establishing the fact of illegal imprisonment is an administrative service and should be provided within the limits of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Therefore, this procedure must be regulated, understandable for the applicant, there must be clearly established deadlines, and not, again, the wishes and capabilities of the commission, there must be an opportunity to listen to a person who wishes to be heard, the victim must have a representative, if he so wishes.

That is, a person must be protected in relations with the state by a clear, understandable procedure that everyone follows, and then even with such a wide discretion of the commission, a person will have rights, and not just some wishes and reluctance of the commission.

But the best thing is that the smaller this commission is, or if it is a representative of some ministry and there is a clear, clear law for him, then you can do without the commission, because it has been showing its ineffectiveness for years."

Kateryna Levchenko, head of the legal department of the NGO Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners to the Human Rights Club "Return without exchange: how to protect the rights of those released from prison in the Russian Federation".

The conclusions and constructive proposals expressed during the Club are included in the algorithm of accelerated establishment of the fact of deprivation of personal freedom of those civilians who were released themselves, not as a result of the so-called "exchanges". Specialists of the Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners are working on the algorithm with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

The post was created by the NGO Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of Kremlin with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The text reflects the views of the Association's specialists and they do not necessarily coincide with the views of the International Renaissance Fund.

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