A court in Tomsk sentenced a soldier who twice deserted from a military unit to 8 years in prison

Posting in CHAT: Russia

Dmitry Kandinsky / vtomske.ru The Tomsk Garrison Military Court sentenced a soldier to eight years in prison for leaving a military unit without permission. This was reported by the press service of the 2nd Eastern District Military Court. According to the court, serviceman Alexey Kapranov left the military unit without permission in December 2022. on temporary evasion from military service.” In April 2023, the police found Kapranov and handed him over to the military commandant’s office. After this, the soldier was taken to a military unit in Yurga. However, on May 18, Kapranov again left his post without permission. He was found in July, the court press service reports. “The court sentenced Kapranov to imprisonment in a general regime colony for a period of eight years. The verdict has not entered into legal force,” the statement says. According to the materials of the Tomsk Garrison Military Court, the case against soldier Kapranov was received in October, the verdict was pronounced on the 30th. The man was charged under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service for a period of more than one month, committed by a serviceman undergoing compulsory military service or a contract during a period of mobilization or martial law). From the database of cases it follows that in 2023, the military court of Tomsk received 12 criminal cases for consideration under Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unauthorized abandonment of a unit or place of service). However, the list of parts of the article that can be selected for search on the court’s website does not include paragraphs 2.1, 3.1 and 5. They were added to the Criminal Code on September 24 last year after the announcement of partial mobilization. The new parts of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provide for punishment for leaving a place of service during mobilization, martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or hostilities. Therefore, the information in the database of the Tomsk Garrison Military Court about criminal cases initiated under Article 337 is incomplete (we found the case of soldier Kapranov under his last name).