Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 15a

103793, Moscow

Office of the Prosecutor General

of the Russian Federation

to the attention of the Prosecutor General

of the Russian Federation ad interim

Mr. Vladimir Ustinov

REQUEST

On October 27, 1999 the Public Prosecutor's Office of Obninsk (Kaluga region) has brought a criminal action against Dmitrii Antonovich Neverovskii accused of evading military service.

Since 1996 Dmitrii Neverovskii has been taking an active part in the work of the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA) and of the Obninsk Regional Right-Defence Group (ORRDG); pursuant to his antimilitarist convictions, Neverovskii has the right to apply for the alternative civilian service instead of the military service in the Russian Armed Forces, in accordance with Art. 59.3 of the Russian Constitution and Art. 2.5 of the Military duty and military service federal law.

In 1995, when he was a student, Dmitrii Neverovskii left the military department of his institute because of the Chechen war. In 1997 he applied for the alternative civilian service at the Enlistment Commission and, later on, lodged a complaint against the decision to call him up for military service. His trial went on till 1999 because Kaluga Regional Court revoked the decision of the Obninsk City Court several times. In 1999 the Regional Court refused to satisfy his complaint while the Military Commissar of the City of Obninsk, colonel Podgurskii, requested to bring a criminal action against Dmitrii Neverovskii. Earlier the Military Commissar of Obninsk had asked the Prosecutor and the Federal Security Service to bring a criminal action against the mother of Dmitrii Neverovskii - Tat'yana Mikhailovna Kotlyar, leader of the regional right-defence group in Obninsk and deputy of the City Assembly of Obninsk. Tat'yana Kotlyar helps the draftees to defend their rights, including the constitutional right to cons

cientiously object.

Till now the Prosecutor's Office of Kaluga has never brought criminal actions against those conscientious objectors that applied for the alternative civilian service and consequently lodged a complaint against the decision to call them up. For today there are about 50 similar cases. The decree of the Constitutional Court of May 22, 1996 says that "the actions of the citizens exercising their constitutional right to the alternative civilian service are not to be considered as an evasion of the military service without valid reasons, hence, they have no features of this offence provided in the legislation".

Today the situation has changed. Dmitrii Neverovskii is the first conscientious objector in Kaluga region to be prosecuted for a criminal offence.

There are valid grounds to suppose that the Prosecutor has brought the criminal case against Dmitrii Neverovskii for two reasons:

1. In order to frighten other conscripts in Kaluga region, where many young men conscientiously object;

2. In order to squeeze on the mother of Dmitrii Neverovskii, Tat'yana Kotlyar, candidate for the next State Duma. Thus, the Office of the Public Prosecutor interferes in the elections.

Therefore, I ask to inspect the legality of the criminal action against Dmitrii Neverovskii, brought by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Kaluga.

Secretary of the ARA Nikolai Khramov