"They stripped people of lawful deferments with one click": Ombudsman reports mass violations at the Berehove Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center
Kyiv • UNN
Dmytro Lubinets said that hundreds of men were unlawfully deprived of deferments at the Berehove District Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center. The materials have been submitted to the prosecutor's office for investigation.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets stated that there were "shocking details from Zakarpattia," where, according to him, "at the Berehove Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, men from all over Ukraine were deprived of their lawful deferments with ‘one click,’" and described the scheme, noting that he had sent the materials to law enforcement agencies, UNN reports.
Details
"Shocking details from Zakarpattia: at the Berehove Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, men from all over Ukraine were deprived of their lawful deferments with ‘one click’! Hundreds of conscripts from all over Ukraine effectively found themselves in the status of hostages, as they were unlawfully detained despite having valid deferments and were not allowed to leave the premises of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, while their legal guarantees were simply annulled without any grounds," Lubinets wrote on social media.
According to him, during a monitoring visit to the Berehove Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, Andrii Kryuchkov, the Ombudsman’s representative in Zakarpattia region, documented mass violations.
"How did the scheme work? Artificial deprivation of liberty: citizens with valid documents were blocked from leaving the premises of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, preventing their freedom of movement. Mass falsification of data: deferments were canceled, and in some cases even without meetings of the relevant commissions and without drawing up minutes. The head of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center entered knowingly false information into the state information system. Fictitious documents: officials stamped fake reports that became the ‘basis’ for depriving citizens of their rights. Humiliating living conditions: at the assembly point, unsatisfactory sanitary conditions in the toilets, a lack of drinking water, the absence of underwear, blankets and hygiene products, and only a summer shower were found," Lubinets said.
The Ombudsman noted that all these uncovered facts "are a direct consequence of the negligence and inaction of the former leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the unlawful instructions of the head of the Zakarpattia Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center." "It is precisely the lack of systematic oversight that created the conditions for such arbitrariness. It is now absolutely clear why people are so afraid and why these numerous videos appear, showing citizens trying to escape from Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center employees. They are afraid because even if a person has a lawful deferment, they can easily lose it inside the premises of a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center," Lubinets said.
"The systematic nature of the violations is confirmed by the facts: during July alone, my representative Andrii Kryuchkov released 11 people who were unlawfully detained at this Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, and directly during the monitoring visit he facilitated the immediate release of two more citizens," the Ombudsman reported.
The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights stated that "these actions clearly show signs of crimes under Articles 146 (unlawful deprivation of liberty), 362 (unauthorized actions involving information), 366 (official forgery), and 426-1 (exceeding authority) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine."
"I have already sent the materials to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense of the Western Region to enter the information into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations and conduct an investigation. I separately thank the leadership of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Military Law Enforcement Service, which are responding to the facts we have established," Lubinets emphasized.