prisoners were sent to war without a contract
Russian prisoners were sent to war in Ukraine according to their “written consent”, not according to a contract. Now they are seeking payments that are not due to them. The BBC writes about this after studying court decisions.
Recruited prisoners, pardoned by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin for participation in the war, signed the agreement “for the purpose of atonement before society for the crime committed.” After that, they were enrolled in the “Storm Z” detachments fighting in Ukraine for six months.
Court rulings state that “agreement is not a contract that provides for the rights and responsibilities of each party,” and the formation of “Storm Z” differs “by its legal nature from a voluntary formation.” Accordingly, in payments and benefits provided by the authorities for volunteers, pardoned prisoners are mostly denied by the courts.
The BBC found out that the Ministry of Defense of Russia established separate payments for the participants of “Storm Z” by internal order. According to the document, the wages of prisoners and compensation for injuries were several times lower than what contract workers receive. For the death of prisoners of war, the payment was similar, but multi-million insurance sums were not provided for them.
- At least 246 prisoners pardoned by Putin, returning from the war in Ukraine, killed or seriously injured people. Criminal cases have been brought against them again.
