First Deputy Head of the National Police Maksym Tsutskiridze said that conscripts who received a suspended sentence for evading military service are still subject to conscription. He said this in an interview with Censor.NET.
"If we analyze the verdicts that are already available, the vast majority of men who evade mobilization receive suspended sentences. The courts take into account the moral state, some ethical things, the presence of relatives who are dependent on these people, children, their arguments about their unfitness for service, although the medical commission provides a certificate that they are fit," says Tsutskiridze.
According to him, if a citizen receives a second sentence for evasion, it will be a criminal offense and a real term.
"I think that when making such a decision, the court is guided by the fact that this is a potential military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the future. And it makes a decision in such a way that he still has the opportunity to serve," Tsutskiridze said.
He noted that the existence of a pre-trial investigation or suspicion from law enforcement officers does not exempt from service, as it all depends on the measure of restraint.
Tsutskiridze emphasized that trials in such cases take a long time. In 2022, 250 verdicts were issued against evaders, and in 2023, about 300.
"Still, the courts need to work harder to make people feel that there is no preventive punishment for this crime," the police officer said.
