Special Prosecutor: Service in Armed Forces is not ground for mitigation or remission of court sentence
Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not a ground for mitigation of a court sentence, and especially for its remission if a person has committed a criminal offense in civilian life.
This was stated at a briefing by the head of the Mykolaiv Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Southern Region, Andrii Klopov, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
"Serving in the Armed Forces is not a ground for mitigating a court sentence, and especially for its remission if a person has committed an offense. I have not seen a single verdict where the judge recognized military service as a mitigating circumstance, and there is no such practice in the Mykolaiv Specialized Prosecutor's Office," Klopov said.
According to him, there are cases when the court imposes a sentence and releases a person from serving it with a probationary period, but the arguments are different, not the same as military service.
He also noted that a civilian who is under investigation and has not been imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention or round-the-clock house arrest can be called up to the Armed Forces.
According to the Constitution, a person is not guilty unless the contrary is proved and a verdict is passed that enters into force.
"Sometimes this complicates our work in solving crimes or completing pre-trial investigations in a particular case. But we also understand that the Armed Forces need people now, so we find a compromise," the special prosecutor added.
As reported, today, on May 8, during the plenary session, the Verkhovna Rada allowed certain categories of prisoners to be mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces.
Earlier it was reported that the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading the draft law No. 11079-1 on the mobilization of convicts.
