There are currently 27 commercial organizations in Russia that send and receive emails, money and print publications to prisoners; therefore, it is unnecessary to create a civil service with similar functions. The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia reported this to socialbites.ca and commented on the proposal of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers (APPSIM) to create a state ambassador for prisoners on the basis of State Services.
FSIN considers this initiative unnecessary. The ministry explained that “the right of suspects, defendants and those sentenced to prison to make telephone calls, including in electronic form, to receive and send letters at their own expense is already implemented.”
“Currently, services of audio and video negotiations, electronic correspondence, money transfers and sending of printed publications in the institutions of the penal system of the Russian Federation are provided by 27 commercial organizations. “There is no need to create a new Internet service at this time,” the ministry’s statement reads.
At the end of October, APPSIM appealed to the Federal Penitentiary Service and the Ministry of Digital Development with a request to create a unified state service on the basis of State Services for communication with prisoners. The Association believes that commercial entities are providing these services inappropriately.
Read more about what services people serving time in Russian prisons have access to in socialbites.ca’s exclusive material.