Human rights advocates: 10,000 Crimeans were illegally conscripted into Russian Army
About 10,000 Crimeans were called for military service in the Russian army over the past three years, as evidenced by the data published in a report by a Crimean human rights group.
“The number of Crimeans called up for service in the Russian army significantly increased in 2017. In 2016, about 3,100 people and a little less than 5,000 recruits from the Crimea were sent to the Russian military in 2017. The total number of recruits called up by the Armed Forces of Russia is about 10,000 Crimeans,” the report says.
Human rights activists also noted that about four criminal proceedings for evading military service were initiated in 2017. Two cases were initiated in Simferopol, and one in Yalta. According to the data, judgments in three of these cases have been already delivered.
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation stated that on the 16th of November, the Military Commissariat of the annexed Crimea sent 103 soldiers to the Autumn-2017 call-up for service in the Russian military.
The Crimean human rights group appealed to Crimean residents with a request to report on the conscription to the Russian army from the annexed peninsula.
After the annexation of the Crimea, Crimean authorities started recruiting Crimeans into the Russian army. Many public events on the peninsula are accompanied by promotion of the service in the Russian armed forces. Crimeans are conscripted into the Russian army in spite of international legislation and decisions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.