Ukraine's Ombudsman: Ex-prison chief where inmates were tortured received $9,700 bonus

The former head of the Bozhkivska Correctional Colony in Poltava Oblast, where law enforcement discovered inmates were being tortured, received a bonus and other payments totaling UAH 400,000  ($9,700) upon dismissal, as reported by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.

The ombudsman reported that he had initiated a review of the colony's service records in the Department for the Execution of Criminal Sentences of the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, the department launched an internal investigation into the facts of torture of prisoners.

The Ombudsman's Office found that in July 2023, the head of the Bozhkivska Correctional Colony was dismissed at his request, without waiting for the final conclusions of the investigation. He was paid bonuses amounting to 400% of his salary "for special achievements at work" and other funds totaling almost UAH 400,000 ($9,700).

"Subsequently, in December 2023, the ex-head of this institution managed to obtain a decision to establish the maximum level of pension for him," Lubinets added.

He instructed investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation to determine why the former head of the colony was "unreasonably and illegally" awarded bonuses.

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