An Irish woman who has been doing volunteer work at two juvenile prisons in Belarus has said the imprisoned juveniles are under a "constant threat of violence" from prison guards.
A group of 15 Irish volunteers are the first western charity workers to visit juvenile prisons in Belarus. The Zest4Kids charity is implementing a "Second Chance" programme in separate girls' and boys' prisons in Belarus. The juvenile offenders are aged between 13 and 24.
"In the boys' prison it was all barbed wire and locked gates. There was a real military element. The guards told us that if the boys misbehave they can be put in solitary confinement for 30 days, but they haven't had to do this for a year," said volunteer Sharon Hutchinson from Balbriggan, Co Dublin.
"They are only allowed to have six visits per year and are under a constant threat of violence from the guards," she added.
The volunteers have been working in the two prisons over the past week. The programmes they have introduced include arts and crafts, martial arts, music, sports and counselling.
Trained professionals and psychotherapists have also been coaching the prison guards on how to deal with juveniles.
Volunteers will return to the two prisons in Belarus to continue implementing the programme. "A lot of the children have lost all hope for the future completely. The message we're giving them is that there's still hope," Ms Hutchinson added.
Information is available at www.zestlife.ie and info@zestlife.ie