The HRC considers the participation of convicts in hostilities in line with the “spirit of the Constitution”

Since, according to the Russian Constitution, every citizen has the right to defend their homeland, convicts should also have it, said Valery Fadeev, head of the Human Rights Council. Commenting on the recent draft law on the participation of convicts in hostilities, he agreed that the legal procedure for the transition of citizens serving criminal sentences to military service should be regulated.

“Defending the Motherland is primarily a duty, but in a sense, it is also a human right. Therefore, based on the spirit of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, probably, even if a person is convicted, he should still have the right to go to war for the country, ”said Mr. Fadeev in a dialogue with TASS. He stressed that if a person has a desire to “take up arms and go to defend (the country.— “b”)”, he should be given a similar opportunity.

On October 13, it became known that the senators of the Federation Council developed a bill allowing convicted military personnel and civilians to participate in hostilities. The explanatory materials to the document noted that convicts could be released from punishment if they “showed courage and heroism.”

In September, a video appeared on the Internet in which the creator of Wagner PMC Evgeny Prigozhin in one of the Russian colonies offers prisoners to participate in a military operation in Ukraine, promising a pardon after six months of participation in hostilities. Later, the businessman said that those who do not want PMCs and prisoners to participate in the conflict in Ukraine should send to the front of their children.