76 charges against TCR heads and thousands of medical examinations cancelled – Tsutskiridze spoke about fight against evasion of mobilisation
The National Police are stepping up their investigations to combat abuses within the TCR system, as well as in the process of issuing deferrals and the MMC’s findings. To date, 76 heads of TCR at various levels have been placed under suspicion; the legitimacy of deferrals granted to nearly 2,500 conscripts is being investigated; and 6,500 unfounded decisions by military medical commissions have been annulled.
This was reported by the acting head of the National Police, Maksym Tsutskiridze, according to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform.
The scope of the investigations
"It is a matter of principle for me that the law applies equally to both those liable for military service and to officials responsible for mobilisation or who make decisions as members of military medical commissions. Position, rank or the possession of any resources cannot serve as a shield from accountability. But it is equally important that liability is always individual and based on evidence. We cannot allow the exposure of specific abuses to turn into a campaign against all TCR staff or lead to the automatic overturning of legitimate conclusions regarding people who genuinely have serious illnesses or injuries," he noted.
That is precisely why, according to Tsutskiridze, the police are currently stepping up their investigative work in areas where they identify the greatest risks of abuse – primarily in the activities of the TCR, during the processing of deferrals and the decision-making of military medical commissions.
"This is not about a formal increase in the number of cases, but about the quality of documentation, identifying all those involved in the schemes and bringing the evidence to court," he clarified.
The head of the National Police cited figures showing that, in total, since the start of the full-scale invasion, National Police investigators have probed 428 criminal cases concerning unlawful assistance in evading military service, the issuance of fictitious medical certificates and the organisation of travel abroad. 105 of these have already been referred to court, whilst pre-trial investigations are ongoing in the others.
Results
Those implicated include staff and managers of the TCR at various levels – for example, we have already served notices of suspicion on 76 such managers. And this work will continue: every instance of the abuse of official powers for personal gain or unlawful exemption from mobilisation must be subject to a proper legal assessment. We are also working specifically on schemes involving fictitious deferrals. We are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the possible illegal deferral of nearly 2,500 conscripts. Our attention is also focused on the decisions of military medical commissions: during the investigation, over 83,500 military medical commission rulings were seized, and 6,500 unlawful decisions have already been overturned," noted Tsutskiridze.
He emphasised, however, that each decision must be assessed individually to protect the rights of those who have legitimate grounds for deferment or unfitness for service.
"Liability is also provided for those who directly evade conscription under mobilisation. Under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, 6,417 criminal offences have been reported, and 6,162 indictments have been referred to court," added the head of the National Police.
At the same time, he emphasised that it is important to understand that a notice of suspicion does not mark the end of the investigation: "After this, it is necessary to identify all those involved, verify every incident, examine documents and gather evidence that will stand up to scrutiny in court. In complex cases, this work takes months, and sometimes even years."
