Russian Soldiers to be Imprisoned for Voluntary Surrender, Abandonment, Looting

The Russian State Duma on Tuesday approved amendments to the Criminal Code, according to which voluntary surrender, looting and unauthorized abandonment of a unit during a period of hostilities entail imprisonment.

The Criminal Code Amendments assume significance in the light of reports that Russian servicemen are abandoning their posts, refusing to fire on Ukrainians and surrendering to Ukrainian forces.

The amendments introduce a number of new articles in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, "Voluntary Surrender" (Article 352.1). For surrender, one faces from three to 10 years in prison, if there are no signs of high treason, Interfax reported.

The draft law states that "a serviceman who has committed a crime under this article for the first time may be exempted from criminal liability if he took measures to free himself, returned to his unit or place of service, and did not commit other crimes while in captivity.”

The article "Looting" (Article 356.1) has been amended to provide for imprisonment for up to 15 years. At the same time, it is proposed to consider the commission of a crime “during the period of mobilization or martial law, in wartime” as aggravating circumstances (Article 63).

DESERTION

According to the draft law, unauthorized abandonment of a unit during the period of mobilization and martial law (Article 337 of the Criminal Code) will be punished more severely: from two to 10 days - up to 5 years in prison, and not up to one year; - from 10 to one month - up to 7 years in prison, and not up to three years; - more than a month - from 5 to 10 years in a colony, and not up to five years.

The draft law contains a note that "A serviceman who for the first time committed the acts provided for by parts one, two, three or four of this article may be exempted from criminal liability if unauthorized leaving of the unit or place of service, as well as failure to appear on time without good reason for service were the result of a combination of difficult circumstances."

INSUBORDINATON

The draft law indicates that non-observance by a subordinate of an order of a superior given in the prescribed manner, during a period of martial law, in wartime or in conditions of an armed conflict or combat operations, as well as refusal to participate in military or hostilities, is proposed to be punished with imprisonment for a term of from two to three years (Part 2.1 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code).

If such deeds were committed during a period of martial law, in wartime or in conditions of an armed conflict or command of hostilities, as well as refusal to participate in military or hostilities that entailed, entailed grave consequences, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to 10 years.