You're reading: Penitentiary service: Video surveillance in Tymoshenko’s cell not conducted during massages

The State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine has reported that under a decision taken by the Kachanivska penal colony in Kharkiv, where former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is serving her seven-year prison sentence, video surveillance is not conducted when massages are given to the ex-prime minister.

"By the decision of the institution’s leadership, video surveillance is not conducted during the massage sessions [given to] prisoner Tymoshenko," the press office of the State Penitentiary Service reported on Tuesday.

The report notes that as of Jan. 31, Tymoshenko had 11 massage sessions, which are performed at the request of the prisoner in her prison cell.

"A female representative of the health care department of Kharkiv Regional State Administration, a female medical employee of the colony and a female employee of the colony’s surveillance service are present in the cell during massage sessions. The presence of these employees of the colony in the room where the massage sessions are carried out is envisaged by the current regulatory framework and this cannot regarded as humiliation or a violation of human rights," the press office reported.