Not only the Investigative Committee, but also representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, bailiffs, investigators of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and customs have begun to recruit defendants and suspects in criminal cases for war. This was reported by Kommersant.
According to the publication, the departments' leadership has instructed their subordinates to «establish active interaction with military registration and enlistment offices» and invite defendants in criminal cases aged 18 to 65 to serve. In exchange, the security forces promise to suspend and terminate investigations into criminal cases and, if necessary, to expunge criminal records.
According to Kommersant, investigators and interrogators are required to explain to suspects and defendants of the appropriate age that they have the right to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and be exempted from criminal liability. If a defendant in a case has expressed a desire to sign a contract, the security forces must «immediately» forward his application to the military registration and enlistment office for consideration.
If the military registration and enlistment office has agreed to conclude a contract with the defendant, his criminal prosecution is suspended at the request of the military. It will be completely terminated if the recruit is awarded a state award, the war ends, or «loss of life or health.»
At the same time, security forces are also required to maintain lists with information about recruits, which will be provided to their superiors «upon first request.» The documents, among other things, must indicate the articles that the defendants are charged with. A specific employee must be responsible for compiling the lists — he must also organize interaction with military registration and enlistment offices and «ensure» the prompt resolution of emerging problems.
Previously, according to Kommersant, only employees of the Investigative Committee were involved in recruiting defendants; later, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB joined in.