Putin's autumn draft: Experts question appeal promises
- The assertion that draftees will be able to appeal the commission's decision is mere rhetoric intended to placate the public - warns Sergei Krivvenko, director of the human rights group "Citizen.Army.Law." According to Putin's decision, the autumn mobilisation will begin in Russia on Tuesday.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the autumn military draft on Monday. According to the document published by the Kremlin, 133,000 people will join the ranks of the Russian army from October to the end of December.
Mobilisation in Russia. Expert warns
Before the decree was announced, the deputy head of the Main Directorate of Organisation and Mobilisation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vice-Admiral Vladimir Tsymlyanski, stated that in the autumn draft campaign, allegedly "it will be possible to appeal the commission's decision, including through government services".
This should also be the first such "privilege" for draftees. - A feature of the upcoming draft campaign will be the ability of draftees to appeal the decisions of the draft commissions during the preparatory proceedings. Currently, a complaint to the draft commission of an entity that is part of the Russian Federation can be filed electronically through government services, said the vice-admiral at the briefing.
Moreover, according to him, this can be done through a multi-functional centre for providing state and municipal services in writing during a personal appearance.
Russian authorities also ensure that those mobilized will not be sent to the front lines and will not participate in combat. This same promise was made to draftees earlier by dictator Putin himself. When Kyiv decided to invade the Kursk region, the Russian territory was defended by inexperienced teenage draftees who were captured en masse by Ukrainian forces.
Will they send the mobilised to the front?
Russian human rights defenders are sounding the alarm. Sergei Krivvenko, director of the human rights organization "Citizen.Army.Law," suggests that the claim allowing draftees to challenge the commission's decisions is simply rhetoric to calm public concerns.
In an interview with The Insider, he recalls that under current Russian law, military personnel can be sent to war to take part in hostilities on the territory of the Russian Federation or another country after four months from the draft.
Krivvenko cautions that the suggestion of a potential pre-trial appeal against the commission's decision is just rhetoric from the general staff meant to calm the public. Although the Russian government has so far decided against sending large numbers of conscripts to fight in Ukraine, this position could shift at any moment.
