Deputy alleges pressure on conscripts from Miass to sign contracts
Deputy Anastasia Borisova has asked the military prosecutor«s office to verify information about two conscripts from Miass being forced to sign contracts. The soldiers» relatives claim they signed the documents under pressure on a train heading to their duty station.
«For every refusal they forced us to do squats»
Relatives of 18-year-old Ivan Morozov and 20-year-old Semen Sergeev approached the deputy from Miass. The young men were drafted on December 5 and sent by train to Ussuriysk on the 8th. What happened next, Ivan described in a video:
«Two agitators without military ranks approached me; they didn»t introduce themselves. They urged me to sign a contract, forced me to sign a contract, threatened my health both morally and physically. For every refusal they forced me to do squats, twisted my arms. Unable to withstand the physical violence, I signed the contract lying on the floor.«
Semen Sergeev said he was pressured more psychologically. The conscript had already refused a contract at the assembly point in Kopeysk, but on the train they began persuading him again. The young man initially promised to think about it.
«The next morning, during the general wake-up for personnel, they woke me up with the question: »Will you sign the contract?« I refused, and they began to humiliate my personal dignity, saying things like: »You«re not a man,» «Do you want your mother to take a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and a rifle and go defend the motherland?» Under such psychological pressure, I sat down to sign the contract,« he said.
During the week-long journey, other conscripts also signed contracts on the train; according to some reports, more than a hundred did. Parents of nine young men from different regions have sent collective appeals to the Main Military Prosecutor«s Office of the Russian Federation, from where the complaint was forwarded to the military prosecutor»s office of the Eastern Military District.
Upon arriving at the unit, Ivan wrote a refusal to sign the contract, but the fate of the document is still unclear.
«The fact of using violence makes such a contract legally null and void»
The relatives of the young men from Miass turned to a local deputy, and Anastasia Borisova sent a request to the military prosecutor«s office of the Eastern Military District. In her opinion, there was an abuse of official authority (Article 286 of the Russian Criminal Code) and a violation of statutory rules governing relations between military personnel (Article 335 of the Russian Criminal Code).
«According to the applicants, two persons accompanying the train with the rank of »sergeant« (their identities are to be established), using threats to life and health, as well as physical violence (physical exhaustion, arm-twisting), forced I.M. Morozov and S.I. Sergeev to sign a contract for military service. Psychological pressure was exerted, including through night-time wake-ups, obscene language, and intimidation. At the same time, the legal consequences and conditions of the contract were not explained. Article 32 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, »On Military Duty and Military Service,« establishes the exclusive voluntariness of concluding a contract. The fact of using violence and threats to obtain a signature makes such a contract legally null and void, and the actions of officials — criminally punishable,» the document states.
The deputy asked to conduct an inspection regarding the facts of using violence and coercion to sign contracts against the soldiers, to suspend (annul) the processing of the contracts, and to return them to the status of conscripted servicemen. She also requested consideration of initiating a criminal case against the guilty parties under the article on abuse of official authority with the use of violence.
«Any information about coercion to sign contracts requires an extremely serious and impartial inspection. By law, a contract is an expression of the citizen»s will. Situations where this principle is violated are unacceptable,« said Anastasia Borisova. »In such cases, it is necessary to immediately involve supervisory authorities, in particular, the military prosecutor«s office, which will give a legal assessment of the officials» actions. We, as representatives of the authorities on the ground, advocate that all processes within the framework of the conscription campaign and recruitment for service proceed openly and strictly in accordance with the law. Any distortion of these processes harms society.«
The editorial office of 74.RU did not duplicate the request to the military prosecutor«s office of the Eastern Military District and will publish the response when it is received by the deputy.
What else to read on this topic
A young man came to the military enlistment office to confirm a serious illness, and that same day he was taken for service in Chebarkul;
«Thrown into the thick of it.» A conscript from Chebarkul was sent to the special military operation, but his parents are convinced the contract is forged;
305,000 rubles (approx. $3,300 at current rates) appeared on a Chelyabinsk conscript«s card, his mother raised the alarm. She fears her son will be sent to the special military operation;
»A quick zip, and you«re a contract soldier.» Conscripts in Chebarkul receive money for allegedly signed papers with the Ministry of Defense;
«Help, my fate is at stake.» Conscripts from Chebarkul — about contracts being signed behind their backs;
General Kartapolov explained the strange «contract» payments to conscript soldiers.
