At the Berehove Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support, men were widely stripped of lawful deferments – Ombudsman Lubinets

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that there were widespread violations of the rights of those liable for military service and unlawful deprivation of deferrals at the Berehove District TCC in Zakarpattia.

Source: Lubinets on social media

During a monitoring visit to the Berehove RTCC and SP, the ombudsperson's representative for the Zakarpattia region, Andriy Kryuchkov, documented widespread violations: “Hundreds of draftees from all over Ukraine have effectively found themselves in a hostage status, as they were unlawfully held with valid deferrals and were not allowed to leave the RTCC SP area, and the legal guarantees were simply annulled without any grounds.”

As Lubinets noted, citizens with valid documents were blocked from exiting the TCC territory, hindering free movement.

Deferrals were cancelled, and in some cases even without sessions of the relevant commissions and without drafting protocols. The head of the RTCC SP entered knowingly false information into the State Information System.

Officials stamped fake reports, which became the “basis” for depriving citizens of their rights.

At the collection point, they found unsatisfactory sanitary conditions of the restrooms, a lack of drinking water, absence of underwear, blankets, hygiene products, and only a summer shower.

Berehove RTCC, photo from Lubinets’s Telegram

Lubinets noted that only during July his representative Andriy Kryuchkov released 11 persons who were unlawfully detained in this RTCC SP, and directly during the monitoring visit he helped secure the immediate release of two more citizens.

These actions have clear signs of crimes under articles 146 (unlawful detention), 362 (unauthorized actions with information), 366 (official forgery) and 426-1 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the ombudsperson stated.

He sent the materials to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Defense sector of the Western region for entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (ERP) and for investigation.

Background:

4 in April, after monitoring the Uzhgorod RTCC SP, the ombudsperson Dmytro Lubinets stated through his representative about unlawful detention, unsanitary conditions, and disregard of illnesses in the center’s premises.

25 in April, it became known that the Uzhgorod City-Joint District Court found the head of the Uzhgorod RTCC SP guilty of hindering the ombudsperson’s representative from performing his duties.

29 in April, it became known that the head of the Uzhgorod RTCC would be transferred to a combat unit after a scandal over the conditions of holding mobilized individuals: unlawful detention, unsanitary conditions, and neglect of illnesses.

In June, Lubinets reported that several employees of the Uzhgorod RTCC SP, including the head, were charged in a case concerning human rights violations and torture. He then published a video from a TCC in which a man was chained to a staircase.

UP