Russia’s Supreme Court confirms draftee’s right to exemption from military service based on his Christian faith
Russia’s Supreme Court confirmed the right of Pavel Mushumansky, a resident of the Leningrad region, to an exemption from military service based on his Christian faith, and to instead complete alternative service, according to the human rights organization Conscript School.
The organization noted that Mushumansky had completed alternative service even before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the fall of 2022, after receiving a mobilization summons, he made a request to complete alternative service, but was instead sent to an army base, since it wasn’t specified that the law permitting such service applied to mobilization.
In November, Mushumansky challenged the military enlistment office’s decision in court, though he continued to be held until March. The Leningrad regional court upheld the decision, stating that Russia’s Constitution is the highest source of law, and that it enshrines the right of Russian citizens to alternative service for conscientious objections regardless of the type of draft, writes Conscript School.
The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, where the military enlistment office lost the case. “All courts have agreed with our position that the absence of a law providing a procedure for the realization of a constitutional right cannot deprive citizens of that right,” commented the lawyer Alexander Peredruk on the Supreme Court victory.
