Grozny court verdict against contract soldier upheld

A military court in Grozny found Alexander Sivkevich guilty of refusing to go to the SVO zone and two counts of abandoning his unit, sentencing him to six and a half years in prison. The appellate court upheld the sentence, ignoring the conclusion that the contract soldier could not serve for health reasons.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on September 24, 2022, parts 2.1, 3.1 and 5 of Article 337 on unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service during mobilization were introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The amendments provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years. Tightening of laws after the announcement of mobilization led to harsher sentences for absence from a military unit.

Contract soldier Alexander Sivkevich was found guilty of refusing to comply with an order on February 13, 2024, to be sent to a special military operation zone to participate in hostilities, failure to report for duty in his unit on February 14, 2024, and evasion of service until April 17, 2024, and unauthorized absence from his place of service from May 14, 2024 to September 14, 2024, and was sentenced to six years and six months in a general regime penal colony.

The defense appealed the verdict, noting that the court of first instance did not take into account that Sivkevich could not perform military service duties due to health reasons, which was confirmed at the hearing by a neurosurgeon.

23:48 04.01.2023

Mobilization deprives contract soldiers from the south of Russia of the opportunity to resign

Garrison courts in the south of Russia refuse to satisfy claims from servicemen who seek dismissal due to the end of their contract, citing the decree on mobilization.

The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don considered the punishment "fair and proportionate to the act" and found no grounds for overturning or changing the contested sentence, according to the appellate ruling published on the court's website.

Recall that on September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization. On October 28 of the same year, the Minister of Defense reported to the President on its completion, but no corresponding decree followed. Lawyers have concluded that a presidential decree is not needed to end partial mobilization, Putin's press secretary explained.

At the same time, on December 12, 2023, the military court in Maykop, having sentenced mobilized Vladimir Litenkov to five years in prison for leaving his unit without permission in June 2023, emphasized that "partial mobilization has been declared in the Russian Federation, which was not completed at the time Litenkov committed the crime.