Ukraine toughens punishment for disobedience, desertion in the army
The Hindu
Stronger sanctions will also apply to offences such as threatening commanders, fleeing the battlefield, or consuming alcohol
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed a controversial law toughening punishments for disobedience or desertion from the armed forces amid Russia's invasion.
Stronger sanctions will also apply to offences such as threatening commanders, fleeing the battlefield, or consuming alcohol, according to the law published on the Ukrainian parliament's website.
The new law also prohibits courts from giving reduced or suspended sentences to soldiers found guilty.
Soldiers could face up to 12 years in prison for desertion, up to 10 years for disobedience or refusal to fight, and up to seven years for threatening a superior.
The text was criticized by human rights activists and some organizations had called on the president not to sign the measure, which was passed by parliament in December.
A petition against the law, published on the presidency's website in December, gathered almost 35,000 signatures.
"Instead of thanking soldiers, who have held off a full-scale Russian invasion for almost a year and successfully implemented operations to liberate the territory, we get jail time for the slightest disagreement or remark to commanders," the petition said.
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