A military court in Kursk sentenced two refuseniks to 3 years in prison in a case of group failure to comply with an order in wartime

The Kursk Garrison Military Court sentenced conscientious objectors Yuri Degtyarev and Alexey Selivanov to three years in prison each in a case of group failure to comply with an order (Part 2.2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code). The Mediazona correspondent discovered the case file and spoke with the chairman of the court, Maxim Smirnov.

When exactly the verdict was handed down, Smirnov did not answer. The last court hearing in the case noted on the card took place on December 22. In a telephone conversation, the judge said that the decision was not published on the court's website because the deadline for appealing it had not yet passed. The judge of the military court complained about a “difficult situation” when “if you say something wrong about the army, there will be some claims,” and all the information related to the criminal cases of military personnel is “very sensitive.” Therefore, such processes are “not particularly advertised.” At the same time, the hearings in the case of Degtyarev and Selivanov were open - “in the presence of personnel.”

It is unknown what specific order the military personnel refused to carry out. Smirnov said that Degtyarev and Selivanov “partially admitted guilt” and “wrote reports that they refused.” At the same time, they received the minimum possible punishment under the article.

Responsibility for failure to comply with an order in wartime was tightened at the end of September. Article 332 of the Criminal Code “Failure to execute an order” was supplemented with two new parts: 2.1 - failure to comply with an order during war or combat, punishment - from two to three years in prison; part 2.2 - failure to comply with an order in wartime by a group of persons or resulting in harm to the interests of the service, punishment - from three to ten years.