Human rights advocate: About 5,000 Crimean residents were illegally conscripted into the Russian army
As of the end of 2017, about 5,000 residents of the annexed Crimea were called for service in the Russian army, as there has been a tendency to increase the number of recruits, stated a member of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Irina Sedova, on Krym.Realii radio.
According to her, the Crimean authorities began to bring criminal cases for evasion from service in the Russian army.
"We are developing recommendations on how to react in such situations. The main loophole is not to be listed on a military register, so they will only open an administrative case. It is true, it is difficult to do so, because students and pupils are automatically placed on the register. So, in the former TNU (Taurida National V. Vernadsky University), the current "Crimean Federal University," they do not even issue diplomas without military registration," Sedova noted.
Moreover, the human rights activist has stressed, in social networks the employees of the Crimean military commissariats find young people who have left for the mainland of Ukraine and threaten them.
"In the Crimea itself, the call-up to the army is celebrated as a holiday, and many are deceived, and then suffer from intolerable conditions," Sedova stated.
Crimean Human Rights Group appealed to Crimean residents with a request to report the conscription to the Russian army.
After the annexation of the Crimea, the Russian authorities began recruiting Crimeans into the Russian Army. Many public events on the peninsula are accompanied by promotion of service in the Armed Forces of Russia.