23 convicts transferred from separatist republics to Ukrainian government-held territory
The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and the Office for Human Rights, under authorization from the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), returned 23 prisoners to Kyiv from uncontrolled territories of the Donetsk regions, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice.
There is one woman among the prisoners, and 11 people have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The ministry reported that the total number of prisoners who have been returned to the territories controlled by Kyiv has increased to 131. The returned prisoners have been moved to the Mariupol detention center. Five of them applied to be sent to facilities in the Donetsk region, and others will be moved to facilities in other regions of Ukraine to serve their sentences.
On September 22, the separatist republics announced an “all for all” prisoner exchange. The Security Service of Ukraine confirmed the agreement on the prisoner exchange but said that the statement from the DPR (Donetsk People's Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People's Republic), according to which 618 people will be handed over to separatists, was incorrect.