Media report reveals secret Putin order to detain people opposing war without trial

The human rights group Pervyi Otdel (First Department) has reported, citing documents from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, that in March 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a document allowing law enforcement officers to deprive people of their liberty and send them to pre-trial detention centres without a criminal case being opened or a court ruling being issued.

Source: Pervyi Otdel; Radio Liberty

Details: According to the report, Pervyi Otdel learned that the Investigative Committee received an appeal regarding one such detention which stated that a Russian citizen had been placed in a detention facility without a criminal case being opened on the basis of a "decision of the President of the Russian Federation [Vladimir Putin] dated 8 March 2022 on the organisation of the reception and placement of persons resisting the 'special military operation' [the Russian propaganda term for the war in Ukraine – ed.]". [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

This "decision" authorises officers of military investigative bodies, the FSB, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Protective Service of Russia to send individuals deemed to be opposing the "special military operation" to pre-trial detention facilities.

The Investigative Committee rejected the appeal, citing both the Russian leader's decision and a "temporary instruction" governing the rules of detention at pre-trial detention centres.

"Neither the 'decision' (it is unclear what legal form it takes) nor the temporary instruction have been made public. The text of the 'decision' remains unknown," the human rights defenders said.

Pervyi Otdel notes that detention without a court ruling is a violation of Article 22 of the Russian Constitution, which states that no one may be deprived of liberty except by a court decision.

According to Radio Liberty, there have been repeated reports in the years since the war began that Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians detained in occupied territories have been held in Russian pre-trial detention centres or similar facilities without criminal charges being brought or court rulings issued, often without access to lawyers or relatives.

Radio Liberty notes that the document cited by Pervyi Otdel suggests that this practice ordered by Putin may also be applied to Russian citizens deemed to be opposing the war.

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