BBC MONITORING

Source: Ren TV, Moscow, in Russian 1030 gmt 25 Jul 00

[Presenter] A year ago, the Justice Ministry prepared and sent to the State Duma 59 changes and amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Specialists believe that the proposals can result in substantial improvements in the catastrophic state of Russia's penal system.

[Correspondent] The Council of Europe has compared imprisonment in Russia to torture. Since 1998, the Justice Ministry has, so far in vain, tried to remedy the dismal situation in the country's remand facilities. Our pretrial detention centres are now overcrowded to the extent that people there sleep in shifts, while some of them are forced to endure these conditions for up to five or six years.

[Video shows filthy, overcrowded cells]

Conditions in prisons are not much better.

The Justice Ministry has sought improvements and proposed shorter prison terms in cases of insignificant crimes and, in some cases, the replacement of imprisonment with exile without confinement, conditional sentences, undertakings not to leave the country and fines. Specialists estimate that, if the recommendations are implemented, the prison population would fall at least by 40 per cent and savings of up to R500m per annum could be made. However, the people's deputies in the previous State Duma thought there were more urgent issues to deal with: The law passed only the first reading...

All indications are that the approval of the Justice Ministry proposals may be delayed even further. After all, most of the deputies in this State Duma are new, with only a handful in possession of law degrees.

More important, the concerns of the Justice Ministry and the interests of the security ministries and departments are diametrically opposed.

[Oleg Filimonov, chief of Justice Ministry legal directorate] The law-enforcement agencies that work on the basis of preliminary investigation do not like our draft law. Quite obviously, it suits the investigators to remand someone in custody, as in many respects it is thought to help their work. They know that those under investigation will thus not be able to abscond. So, when investigators are free, they question them. While, however, the former are busy, the latter continue to be remanded in custody. That's how it is, to make things simple for the investigators.

Now, however, it will be much more difficult for them to work.

[Correspondent] The amendments will cause disruption in the habitual routine of some of the most influential institutions, such as the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service, the State Customs Committee and the tax police. It is the interests of these organizations that some of the people's deputies represent.