Putin Signs Law Allowing Criminal Defendants To Join Military

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial new law suspending criminal proceedings against individuals who are called up for military service or sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense to serve in the armed forces.

The move allows defendants, even those already on trial or appealing conviction, to avoid prosecution by joining the military.

The law represents another step in Russia's attempts to increase its military strength without resorting to the politically sensitive option of mass mobilization.

By targeting prisoners and defendants, the Kremlin can continue to recruit soldiers while minimizing public dissent.

The strategy, however, has raised significant human rights concerns, with reports of coerced enlistment, harsh prison conditions aimed at motivating inmates to join the war, and increased pressure on individuals awaiting trial.

The process has also come under fire amid a crime wave involving convicts who return from the front lines after fulfilling their service requirements.

Under the new law, criminal defendants will now have the option to enlist in the military at various stages of their legal proceedings.

This includes when their case has been sent to court or even during the trial process. The law also applies to those whose sentences have not yet been finalized, meaning individuals who have appealed their convictions could still avoid jail time by enlisting.

Initially spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group, the convict-recruitment drive has since been taken over by the Defense Ministry.

According to a report by the IStories website, the Russian government plans to recruit around 24,000 defendants to serve in the war in Ukraine.

The publication quoted two lawyers and a source within the Defense Ministry as saying that pretrial detention centers and military personnel had already begun preparing for such recruitment even before the law was officially signed.

These preparations reportedly involved gathering information on which defendants were fit for military service and willing to sign contracts.

The source from the Defense Ministry estimated that roughly 40 percent of the approximately 60,000 defendants currently in pretrial detention were likely to be conscripted.

Lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told IStories that the recruitment drive was part of an effort to avoid a new wave of "partial mobilizations," a move that could spark public backlash.

In September 2022, Putin's announcement of such a mobilization prompted tens of thousands of Russian men to flee the country, fearing they would be sent to the front lines.

Olga Romanova, head of the Russian human rights group Russia Behind Bars, confirmed to Current Time that recruitment from pretrial detention centers began long before Putin signed the law.

"As of January 1, 2024, 53 prisons have been shut down because the majority of inmates were recruited for the war," Romanova explained.

She added that over 20 prisons had been repurposed to house Ukrainian prisoners of war and were now under Defense Ministry control.

Romanova expressed concern over the worsening conditions in prisons and detention centers, saying that the harsh environment is being used as a tool to pressure inmates, suspects, and defendants into signing military contracts.

"Investigators are now using threats to impose the harshest punishments on suspects before their trials even begin, pushing them toward military service as a way out," Romanova said.

She also noted that law enforcement had started to detain individuals on minor charges, such as shoplifting or verbal insults, with the apparent goal of funneling them into military recruitment.

Romanova shared cases where detainees were threatened with lengthy prison sentences or harsh treatment unless they agreed to enlist.

Earlier this week, Putin signed a decree for the regular conscription of males between the ages of 18 and 30 for one year of mandatory military service.

The conscription period began on October 1 and will continue until December 31, during which an estimated 133,000 men are expected to join the Russian military.

While Putin initially assured the public that only contract soldiers would be deployed to fight in Ukraine, reports suggest that conscripts are often coerced into signing contracts shortly after their induction that see them sent to the front line.