Kharkiv Pre-Trial Detention Center Employees Left Detainee to Die in Cell: Gaps in the Justice System
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) reports serious human rights violations and official irresponsibility among employees of the Kharkiv Pre-Trial Detention Center. According to them, seven employees of the institution, including the former acting chief and several operational officers, were suspected of committing crimes that led to the death of a detainee. As the investigation established, in April 2025, the SIZO employees grossly violated the law by placing a newly delivered suspect in a cell where he had already been convicted — a strictly prohibited practice, since persons who are still on trial are not allowed to be held together with convicted persons. As a result, the new detainee was beaten by the convict into a semi-conscious state, but instead of providing immediate assistance and calling an ambulance, the prison staff left him in a remote cell, purposefully waiting for his death. Only on the night of April 14, after several hours of irresponsible inaction, the detainee died from severe head injuries, bone fractures, and internal injuries. According to the conclusions of forensic experts, timely medical care could have saved his life. It was officially revealed that the delay in providing assistance significantly contributed to the fatal outcome. Instead of openly publicizing and objectively investigating the circumstances of the crime, the prison staff falsified the facts, informing the investigative authorities that the man died during a fight in the cell. They deliberately concealed information about the illegal transfer of the detainee and the inaction of the staff at a critical moment. For this criminal offense, law enforcement agencies have initiated criminal cases under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Depending on the role of each employee, they are charged with abuse of authority (Part 3 of Article 365), leaving in danger, which caused death (Part 3 of Article 135), and official negligence, which led to the death of a person (Part 3 of Article 367). The prosecutor's office is initiating the arrest of the former temporary acting head of the Kharkiv SIZO Yuriy Malyuk and two senior operational officers. Four more former employees of the institution will receive a preventive measure in the form of 24-hour house arrest, while a separate procedural motion is being prepared for the convict who caused fatal injuries. This tragedy once again raises the question of the level of supervision and responsibility in the system of human rights observance. Concerned citizens and law enforcement agencies call for maximum transparency in the investigation and punishment of the perpetrators so that similar situations do not occur again in prisons and other law enforcement institutions.