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Press Release of the Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA)

For Immediate Release

Moscow, May 14, 1996

The sentence on the criminal case against Vadim Hesse accused in committing crime provided by the Art. 80.1 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code ("evading the regular draft to the military service"), was made public yesterday in Noginsk City Court. Referring to the resolution of the Russian Federation Supreme Court Plenary Session from October 31, 1995 which prescribes to the courts to follow the Constitution while exercising justice in case when a law contradicts to the Constitution, the judge Mrs Elena Raskevich applied as direct legal norms the Constitution of Russian Federation (Art. 59.3), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and other international laws, passing the sentence: Vadim Hesse to be justified because of absence the facts of crime in his actions.

We remind that Vadim Hesse, a member of Radical Party and Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA), in October, last year has objected military service on reasons of conscience protesting against war in Chechnya, against absence of the law on alternative civilian service and against hampering the democratic military reform whose integral parts should be reducing the armed forces, transition to the professional recruitment principle and effective civilian control over the army. On January 25, 1995 Vadim Hesse was arrested and accused in "evading the regular draft". After 40 days spent in the cell of Noginsk city investigation prison, Vadim Hesse was released with "non-departure subscription".

The justification sentence on Vadim Hesse's case is the event of an extra-ordinary importance. It showed that Russia becomes a State of Law. But the most important - it demonstrated directly ones more to all Russian citizens of conscription age: the constitutional right of conscientious objection not only legally belongs to them, but they have a practical possibility to use it.

"Would the Russian society be able to stop the war in Chechnya by means of nonviolent resistance to the war and militarism - it depends on whether young Russians will be willing to use this right in a massive way. In any case, ARA does its best in order to address the conscience of every draftee: your conscientious objection is today already not only your constitutional right, but also your civic duty," told Nikolaj Khramov, secretary of ARA.

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