Justice ministry boasts of revenues from paid cells in detention center

Ukrainian Justice Minister Denys Maliuska has boasted about more than UAH 2 million (US$70,746) in revenue received from the launch of more convenient cells offered to those held in pretrial detention centers on paid basis.

"As of the New Year's Eve, the revenue from paid cells has already exceeded UAH 2 million," Maliuska wrote on Facebook on January 4.

Read alsoSale of mothballed prisons to go in "three waves" in Ukraine – Justice MinisterAlso, the minister posted a photo of a refurbished cell hosting 22 inmates in the state-run Lukyanivska Detention Center located in the city of Kyiv. The repairs cost UAH 67,450, or US$2.386, he said.

"I traditionally remind you that taxpayers paid zero hryvnias for the repairs," he added.

Paid cells in pretrial detention centers: Background

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers, with its Resolution No. 305 of April 22, 2020, introduced a pilot project on a service offering detention cells with improved conditions on a paid basis.

Such cells have already been opened in pretrial detention centers in the cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Vilniansk and Dnipro.