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Arrests in Ukraine
Ukraine is an independent, sovereign country. One of the chief
attributes of sovereignty is the right of a country to make and
enforce laws within its own borders. Just as in America, the
government has the internationally recognized right to try
foreigners as well as its own nationals within its territory.
Anyone who breaks the law in Ukraine is subject to prosecution
under the Ukrainian legal system. If a person is convicted and
sentenced to imprisonment by a Ukrainian court, this sentence will
be served in a Ukrainian prison.
While in Ukraine one is subject to the same laws as is a
Ukrainian citizen. A U.S. passport does not entitle its bearer to
any special privileges. One should not expect to receive
preferential treatment or to expect that the same array of legal
rights accorded one under the U.S. judicial system are necessarily
applicable in Ukraine.
What follows is drawn from explanatory material provided to
arrested Americans.
The Consul’s Role
The United States Government cannot get you out of jail. The
Embassy cannot accept custody of you or guarantee your appearance in
court. Nor can they post bail for you, act as your legal advisor or
pay legal fees for you.
After being arrested, the police must ask you if you would like
the Embassy to be notified of your arrest. You can ask that the
Embassy will not be notified, and at a later date you may change
your mind and request that the police do notify us.
Arrested persons may not be allowed to make telephone calls. If
you ask that the Embassy be notified, the police will contact us on
your behalf. You may not be able to speak to us by phone, nor to
your friends or relatives.
What the Embassy/Consulates Can Do
- Visit you in jail after being notified of your arrest to check
on your health and the treatment accorded you by the police;
- Give you a list of local English-speaking attorneys (you are
responsible for paying any lawyers’ fees);
- Make sure the police are aware of any medical conditions you
have (for example, diabetes, food allergies, etc.), and request
that you been seen by a doctor;
- Work with local authorities to ensure that your rights under
Ukrainian law are fully observed, to include protesting any
mistreatment or abuse;
- Supply you with English-language reading material subject to
prison regulations;
- Notify your family and friends of your arrest, relay requests
for financial assistance, provided you authorize the consul to do
so.
The U.S. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579) was enacted to
protect U.S. citizens against unauthorized release of information
about them by the government. If you want us to notify your family
or friends about your arrest you must first give us written
permission to do so.
The Embassy will not inform any person of your arrest without
your permission. Even if your family or friends find out by other
means, we will be unable to discuss your case with them without your
permission. Although we routinely report to the Department of State
in Washington on the condition of American prisoners in our consular
district, the Department of State does not release this information
to individuals without your permission.
These files are maintained primarily for the purpose of providing
protection and assistance to American citizens abroad and not for
law enforcement purposes. While there is no automatic or mandatory
dissemination of information in consular files to other agencies, we
can release specific information to other agencies that have a
legitimate interest in such data. Therefore, for legitimate law
enforcement purposes in the U.S., the appropriate law enforcement
agency in the U.S. may be notified.
U.S. arrest records maintained by the Ukrainian government,
however, are not bound by the restrictions of the Privacy Act. We
have no control over what information the Ukrainian police pass to
their U.S. counterparts or to INTERPOL. It is possible that U.S.
police agencies may have acquired more information about a prisoner
from these sources than the Embassy or the Department of State in
Washington has at its disposal.
October 5, 2006 | 
