Ministry of Justice announces the number of prisoners who received permission to be mobilised to the Armed Forces
2 July 2024 14:35
More than three thousand Ukrainian prisoners have already been granted parole and sent to military units for military training. This was reported by Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olena Vysotska in a commentary to the Associated Press, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Vysotska noted that interest in the parole programme for military service exceeded initial expectations, and the Ministry of Justice could provide up to 5,000 recruits.
“Many motives come from the desire to return home as a hero, not to return home from prison,” Vysotska said,
– Vysotska said.
According to the Ministry of Justice, about 27,000 prisoners could potentially be eligible for parole in exchange for military service.
At the same time, some convicts speaking to journalists said they were not ready to agree to conditions without the right to leave and with the obligation to serve until the end of the war, as stipulated in the law on the mobilisation of prisoners.
Mobilisation of convicts
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 11079-1 on the mobilisation of certain categories of convicts.
Prisoners who express a desire to be mobilised will be able to serve after a court decision and a military qualification examination. However, their sentence should not exceed three years .
One of the authors of the draft law, Olena Shulyak, said that the released criminals would serve in special units.
At the same time, not all prisoners will be able to join the Armed Forces. The exceptions are those who:
- Imprisoned for offences against the foundations of national security of Ukraine;
- Imprisoned for the intentional murder of two or more persons, or combined with rape;
- Imprisoned for sexual violence;
- Has a criminal conviction for committing criminal offences under Articles 152-1561, 258-2586, part four of Article 2861 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, unless such convictions have been cancelled or removed in accordance with the procedure established by law.
It should be noted that on 13 March, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 11079 on the conditional early release of convicts from serving their sentences for military service.
Kommersant Ukrainsky published an article about who can be released and sent to the frontline and who is not eligible for parole, the pros and cons of such an initiative, and whether paedophiles and murderers can really be released.
