Russia drafts thousands of prisoners for army in Ukraine
The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia are compiling lists of convicts potentially eligible for military service contracts, even those who have not expressed interest, warns the "Committee Against Torture".
The organization refers to a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The document cited an order marked "for official use only," which outlines the rules for recruiting prisoners for military duties.
Two methods of mobilization
According to this order, there are two mechanisms for recruiting convicts into the military. The first involves creating special lists of individuals that FSIN and the Ministry of Internal Affairs consider "most suitable" for deployment to the conflict in Ukraine. The institutions determine the selection criteria, irrespective of the personal wishes of the convicts.
Automatically excluded from these lists are individuals over 65, those serving life sentences, and individuals with medical contraindications. This includes those classified in the incapacity category "D" or those suffering from blood diseases.
Monthly, these lists of convicts are sent to local military recruitment offices, after which special groups from these offices conduct "informational-explanatory work" with the prisoners.
The second recruitment method allows convicts to voluntarily apply to the prison administration or supervisory authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to request assignment to the army. This approach has no preliminary restrictions concerning the convict categories. However, the military command makes the final decision on signing a contract based on "socio-psychological studies" and a medical examination.
This information emerged during proceedings before the Supreme Court initiated by a convicted murderer, Aleksei Tsygankov. He wished to sign a military service contract but was refused. He attempted to challenge the existing regulations in court, but his lawsuit was dismissed.
Tens of thousands of prisoners in the army
In 2023, amendments to the Military Service Obligation Act permitted contracts with convicted citizens under mobilization conditions. Exceptions include individuals convicted of crimes such as sexual violence against children, terrorism, disclosure of state secrets, and other serious offenses. However, the law does not disclose the recruitment mechanism.
According to research by "Significant Stories", which analyzed thousands of social media posts about disappeared Russian soldiers, over 30,000 people were recruited from penal institutions into "Storm Z" units from February to September 2023. To facilitate this, recruiters from the Ministry of Defense visited at least 108 penal colonies across Russia.
The authors of the investigation stress that "Storm Z" soldiers and their families do not receive insurance in case of injury or death, nor do they qualify for veteran status for military service. Additionally, their pay is often significantly lower than that of mobilized or contract soldiers.
