Yushchenko Visits Zhytomyr Prison

KOROSTEN, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s President made an unscheduled visit to work camp 71 in Korosten, Zhytomyr oblast. 1361 men are imprisoned there. The President was accompanied by the Secretary of National Security and Defense Council and newly appointed governor of Zhytomyr oblast Pavlo Zhebrivskyi.

Victor Yushchenko met the staff and prisoners of the camp and inspected their living conditions.

The President has commissioned Pavlo Zhebrivskyi and local authorities to solve the problems of this camp. Victor Yushchenko pledged to meet with the State Department of Ukraine for Execution of Punishment to discuss further functioning of the prison system.

The President is convinced the new government must humanize prison conditions, “Current penitentiary system incites people against society and does not rehabilitate them,” said Yushchenko. He believes, “the penitentiary system is meant not to debase people but to make people understand that freedom has a high price."