Russian courts help war participants to avoid criminal punishment
After the announcement of mobilization, Russian courts began to massively grant reprieve from the execution of sentences to Russians sentenced to mandatory and correctional labor. For this, only the consent of the convicted person to go and fight in Ukraine is required, writes “Vyorstka” with reference to similar cases in the court records of Moscow, Saratov, Perm, Amur, and Jewish Autonomous Regions.
Those arrested for theft, assault, drug possession, drunk driving or non-payment of alimony are actually released from punishment.
In many cases, as “Vyorstka” found out, the convicted first went to the front, and then after a few weeks they received a reprieve. The interests of such mobilized persons were represented at the meetings by their relatives or FSIN employees.
In addition, according to the publication, in some cases the authorities help participants in the war in Ukraine who have already served time, including for serious crimes, to avoid a new criminal term. Thus, courts and law enforcement agencies in the regions ignore the violation of administrative supervision, which was established for the convicted by their colleagues.
Among the two and a half thousand so-called “volunteers” from Chechnya who went to war in Ukraine, dozens were under administrative supervision. However, judging by the data of the court file, the local authorities did not react in any way to their absence at the place of residence, writes “Vyorstka”.
- In September, when mobilization was announced, the law forbade conscripting persons with outstanding criminal records into military service. However, according to human rights defenders, military enlistment offices violated this prohibition.
- From the spring of 2022, information began to appear in the mass media that Wagner’s PMC was recruiting prisoners in Russian colonies to participate in the war with Ukraine in exchange for a pardon. After the announcement of mobilization, as “Vazhnye istorii” wrote, the Ministry of Defense also began to engage in recruitment in the colonies.
