Erotica of the strict regime
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) communicated the complaint of a life-sentenced person from Slovakia, from whom the colony officers seized “pornographic materials.” The prisoner insists that this violated his right to respect for private life and freedom of information. With the decrease in the taboo of the topic of sex and the discussion about its entry into the field of human rights, the appearance of such a case in the Strasbourg court is natural, experts say. What’s more, they say, access to erotic material can reduce violence in colonies, improve mental health, and be another step towards avoiding convicts being property of the penal system.
Beard porn
Slovakian Roman Choholach has been serving a life sentence for double murder since 2012. In 2017, during an examination, prison officials found pornography on him, seized him, and imposed disciplinary action on him. The convicted person considered that such interference violated his right to respect for private life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights), as well as freedom of expression, which includes the ability to receive information (Article 10 of the Convention).
Having exhausted all national protection mechanisms, he filed a complaint with the ECHR. Now Slovakia, as a respondent country, needs to answer whether the actions of the authorities were “necessary in a democratic society.”
In communication, the court referred to the case “Birzhetis v. Lithuania”, where the ban on wearing a beard in prison was recognized as unfounded and violating the right to respect for private life, said member of the Moscow POC Georgy Ivanov. According to him, it follows from the practice of the Strasbourg court that the possession of pornography is permissible, if it is not about offensive or illegal content.
“At the level of the ECHR, many issues of private life in correctional institutions have already been resolved: about correspondence, dating, religious rituals. Apparently, now the turn has come to pornography. This reflects the development of society and, ultimately, morality, ”said Mr. Ivanov. He also added that he considers it “a ban for the sake of a ban” and does not see “what public interests may be affected by the possession of pornography in prison.”
In the public mind, pornography belongs to taboo pleasures, therefore it has been historically forbidden, said Tatiana Glushkova, Memorial’s lawyer. She noted that in Europe there is a gradual trend towards the humanization of the conditions of punishment and greater freedom in discussing the topic of sex, so the emergence of such a case is “natural”:
She added that in a number of countries there is no longer a ban on the viewing of pornography by prisoners.
So, in the Belgian colony Beveren, there is access to erotic materials via the Internet, and in Scotland, the decision whether to allow them or not is made by the head of the colony. In the Scandinavian countries there are special rooms in prisons, where convicts can retire with exciting literature. Prisoners in Italy can also watch nude photos: they can purchase all publications that are distributed in the country, including erotic ones. “This is a question of equality and the absence of paternalism in penitentiary institutions,” noted the Italian human rights NGO Antigona.
At the same time, there is still no consensus in the countries of the Council of Europe on how legal pornography should be, even outside places of detention, Ms Glushkova recalled. Lawyer Leonid Abgadzhava, an expert of Rus Seated, in a conversation with Kommersant, noted that the ECHR usually avoids issues related to morality. He recalled the case of Sergei Pryanishnikov, a Russian, against Russia, who in 2019 secured the right to reproduce porn produced by him through the ECHR through the ECHR. Then the court stated that it was impossible to develop a “unified concept of morality”, since its requirements are periodically reviewed.
Erotic magazine as freedom of speech and sexual autonomy
In 2015, Andrei Resin, who is serving a life sentence, returned four issues of the Strip magazine through court. The issues were seized during the examination by the colony officers, who considered them pornographic. The convict insisted that the magazine was registered in Russia, and therefore could be freely distributed. In addition, according to the convict, the assessment of the publication as pornographic “was not confirmed by special knowledge in the field of art and culture.”
The Sverdlovsk Regional Court agreed with the prisoner’s arguments and decided that the seizure violated his right to free access to information.
“For some reason, convicts in our country are perceived as the property of the correctional system, and they are denied the right to privacy: in the colony they can read personal letters and refuse to meet with relatives. Not to mention, for example, the Maxim magazine, which today will not be admitted to the colony – most of the pages will simply be cut out, ”said Alexei Sokolov, head of the Pravovaya Osnova human rights organization. He noted that often the heads of the colony “reinsure themselves” and prohibit more than provided by law. This is due to impunity, the human rights activist is sure:
Access to erotic material is an important component of free speech and sexual autonomy, emphasizes Paul Wright, director of the US Human Rights Advocacy Center. In his opinion, it is also the right to be free from religious and political fanaticism, as prison officials often impose their religious morality on prisoners and censor everything related to sexual content.
“Evangelical Christians disproportionately run American prisons and prisons and often seek to impose their political, sexual and religious views on prisoners. I would formulate it rather as a question of freedom of speech: can the government censor the publications that a person reads, ”said the human rights activist. He added that the censorship in the colonies sometimes does not work and the publication of their center Prison Legal News, it was considered “overtly sexual” because of the material about the rape of prisoners by prison staff.
Sexuality and Prison: How Dissatisfaction Leads to Aggression
Researchers at the University of Louisville in the United States, Corey D. Burton and Richard Tewkesbury, in 2011 concluded that banning the receipt of “sexually explicit material” could be counterproductive. They noted that states usually refer to maintaining order and security, but this “can be difficult if prisoners are not given some form of sexual escape.”
“We are fighting the problem of convicts with a lowered social status and at the same time fighting erotic magazines. What should they do? ” – said the lawyer. According to Ms. Helmel, some of the prisoners are turned away by their relatives, so they have no hope of long visits.
Dissatisfaction of sexual needs can lead to aggression and an increase in the level of displeasure with one’s life, Ivan Brushlinsky, a psychologist at the service of the Sitting Russia Foundation for helping convicts, told Kommersant.
“Prisoners rarely have the opportunity to be alone with themselves and through masturbation to satisfy their natural sexual needs,” he said. The psychologist noted that during the year of the work of the psychological service of the fund, they did not address problems on sexual grounds, but he explained that this may be due to “the strong taboo of the topic, especially in prison.” Sexual violence and homophobia remain characteristic of Russian realities.
French psychologist Jacques Lesage de la Hay argues that the state of isolation in which detainees are held creates “colossal” sexual and emotional frustration, which ultimately “can invalidate the subject, both mentally and physically.” In his opinion, such frustration is accompanied by intense nervousness, susceptibility and aggression, whether towards guards or other prisoners. “We are talking about the mental health of the convict,” added the Italian NGO Antigona.
According to Ivan Brushlinsky, much more significant problems remain in the FSIN system than the fulfillment of the sexual needs of prisoners, but attention needs to be paid to the topic of sexuality. “This will contribute to the humanization of prison punishment. Only humanization will improve the efficiency of the correctional system. Traumatized people, angry with the whole world, should not leave the colony, ”said Mr Brushlinsky.
Elizaveta Lamova
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