Putin 'suspends' Russian Constitution at start of war: Media reveals secret decree
Photo: Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Human rights activist from the Pervy Otdel (Department One) project, Yevgeny Smirnov, said that a document exists which, according to him, may allow extrajudicial detentions in Russia following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a post by the Pervy Otdel project on Telegram.
Document and grounds for detention
The Pervy Otdel human rights project, citing materials from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, reported that after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine in March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly signed a document.
It reportedly allows security services to deprive people of their liberty and place them in pre-trial detention centers without opening a criminal case or a court decision.
According to human rights activists, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation received a complaint about one such detention.
It states that a Russian citizen was placed in a detention facility without a criminal case being initiated, referring to a "decision of the President of the Russian Federation dated 08.03.2022 on the organization of reception and placement of persons resisting the so-called special military operation (SVO)."
Expanded powers of security services
Under this alleged "decision," officers of military investigative bodies, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Penitentiary Service reportedly gained the authority to send individuals considered involved in resisting the so-called SVO to facilities operating as pre-trial detention centers.
At the same time, the Investigative Committee rejected the complaint, referring not only to this decision but also to a "temporary instruction" regulating the procedure for detention in pre-trial facilities.
Lack of public access and legal assessment
"The 'decision' (it is unclear how it is formally documented), as well as the temporary instruction, have not been published in the public domain. The text of the 'decision' itself remains unknown," the human rights activists say.
The Pervy Otdel stresses that placing a person in detention without a court order contradicts Article 22 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which guarantees that deprivation of liberty is only possible by a court decision.
Reports on wartime practice
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, since the beginning of the war, there have been repeated reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians from occupied territories being held in Russian pre-trial detention centers without criminal charges, court decisions, or access to lawyers or relatives.
Journalists note that, according to the document cited by the Pervy Otdel, such a practice could theoretically also be applied to Russian citizens whom the authorities consider involved in "opposing" the war.
Oil exports through Russia’s largest Black Sea port of Novorossiysk remain restricted after Ukrainian drone strikes, with two main berths still not restored.
At the same time, the Kremlin claims that Ukrainian drones allegedly pass through NATO airspace when attacking Russian ports and also suggests possible support from the Baltic states and Finland.
