The warden of the Sokyryany prison was renting out inmates

Officials from the State Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of National Police leadership, served notices of suspicion to the warden of Sokyryany Correctional Colony No. 67 in Chernivtsi Oblast and the head of one of the facility’s divisions. The officials were transferring inmates to third parties to perform domestic and construction work without compensation.

According to the investigation, since early 2026, the facility’s administration has been illegally sending inmates outside the colony—to private homes and onto the property of facility employees. The men chopped firewood, laid sidewalk pavers, and cleaned up properties. The inmates could not refuse the work due to their complete dependence on the administration and fear that their conditions of detention would worsen.

During searches on July 25, SBI officers discovered one of the inmates performing unpaid labor outside the prison grounds. The suspects are charged with trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation by abusing their official position (Part 2 of Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), which carries a sentence of 5 to 12 years in prison.

Source: State Bureau of Investigations.

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