15 Russian prisons for conscientious objectors operate on the territory of Ukraine

Telegram channel ASTRA published a video, as it says in its description, “from an illegal basement” for Russian servicemen who refused to participate in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.

According to mass media, the basement, which is essentially an illegal prison, is located in the village of Rassypnoe, Troitsky district, Luhansk region. In the footage published by journalists, military personnel can be seen lying and sitting on boards and the concrete floor, they use plastic bottles instead of toilets. There is practically no light in the room: the military use their own lanterns for lighting.

From whom and how the video got into the disposal of the ASTRA editorial office – it is not said. It is confirmed, at the same time, that journalists have already found 15 such illegal prisons for refuseniks in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine: nine of them are located in Luhansk region, five in Donetsk region, and one more in Kharkiv region.

The publication emphasizes that the basements operate contrary to Russian laws, according to which “military personnel are sent to the guardhouse only after drawing up a report on detention, or a report on the application of measures to ensure the production of materials on a disciplinary offense.” In this case, according to ASTRA, no one prepares any papers.

• Previously, the mass media repeatedly reported on violations of the rights of Russian servicemen who refuse to take part in hostilities, starting with their detention in virtually torturous conditions without medical and legal assistance and ending with criminal prosecution. This was reported, in particular, by the wives of the Volgograd militiamen: according to them, nine soldiers, after refusing to take part in hostilities, were placed in the so-called “prison for conscientious objectors” in the settlement of Amvrosievka in the Donetsk region. Relatives of the soldiers claimed that the prison is an unheated basement, as well as that their husbands are not provided with medical care, are given one army ration per day for everyone and are threatened with physical violence.
• The Ministry of Defense does not comment on the information about the existence of illegal prisons for conscientious objectors.