Ukrainian prisoners who want to go to war are being extorted for bribes or forced to inform by the colony administration – lawyer says

The administrations of Ukrainian prisons are demanding bribes from inmates who want to mobilize for the war under the new law adopted in May.

This information was shared by Oleg Tsilyy, a human rights activist and head of the public organization “Protection of Prisoners of Ukraine.”

“The prison administration independently reviews the inmate’s application for mobilization into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is then forwarded to the relevant commission. If the prison administration does not want to accept the application from the inmate, the inmate has no other means to mobilize into the Armed Forces,” Tsilyy reported.

He also added that human rights activists have begun documenting cases where prison administrations demand money from inmates to accept their mobilization applications.

“If the inmate does not have money, they are offered the option to pay after receiving their first salary as a soldier. Sometimes they are asked to inform on other inmates to receive permission for mobilization. Inmates must be ‘useful’ to the prison staff. Additionally, inmates report an unofficial directive stating that those who have worked in the industrial zone for at least three months are the ones being sent to the war,” Tsilyy said.

According to the mentioned law, those who have killed one person and minor corruption offenders can be mobilized for the war.