The Office of the President of Ukraine has published a petition submitted by attorneys from Barristers LLP.

On June 18, 2019, an online petition submitted by Maxim Dzhevaga, an attorney at Barristers Law Firm, was published on the website of the President of Ukraine—“To conduct a mandatory public re-evaluation of employees of military commissariats, who are responsible for conscription into active military service, and their supervisors. Require them to undergo an independent expert evaluation of their mental health.”

The submission of this petition represents yet another attempt to use legal means to compel the state to comply with the law during the conscription of young people into active military service.

The events of the past week have shown that there is no hope for the courts due to fears of ruling against the state; the police and the military prosecutor’s office are ineffective state bodies that fail to fulfill their functions regarding the protection of human rights and freedoms, and young people are “rounded up” on the streets by military registration and enlistment office staff, as if on a “safari”—and once they are taken to the offices’ premises or conscription collection points, they are stripped of all their civil rights.

This shameful practice can only be changed through joint efforts and thanks to media coverage. Perhaps the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Guarantor of the Constitution will also support restoring order.

To date, all possible legal means to restore the violated rights have been exhausted (petitions to the investigating judge under Article 206 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, appeals to the European Court under Rule 39, reports of official misconduct, complaints to military prosecutors’ offices, etc.).

We ask you to support this online petition to bring this issue to the attention of the newly elected President.

Vote here

 

This is not merely an attempt to help one specific person; it is an attempt to resolve a systemic problem. While the Minister of Defense or the Chief of the General Staff criticizes such actions by military commissars and promises to hold those responsible accountable, these “safaris” recur every six months.

The defense in the case is being handled by attorneys Maxim Dzhevaga, Vadim Kolokolnikov, and Alexander Shcherbina of the law firm “Barristers.”