First Department: Putin issues official authorisation for extrajudicial detention of those ‘opposing the Special Military Operation’

A formal directive issued by Vladimir Putin on 8 March 2022 mandates the ‘organisation of the reception and accommodation of persons obstructing the Special Military Operation’. Although this document remains classified, the human rights project First Department discovered a reference to it within a ruling by the Russian Investigative Committee (SK). The ruling confirmed the legality of detaining an individual in a pre-trial remand centre without a court order.

The SK further cites provisional instructions regarding the management of various places of detention, which permit the incarceration of ‘persons opposing the Special Military Operation’ within such facilities.

The practice of holding individuals in custody without formal charge on the grounds of ‘obstructing the Special Military Operation’ has been actively employed by the Russian authorities since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This is most prevalent among residents of occupied Ukrainian territories. While some detainees are eventually served with official charges after months of extrajudicial imprisonment, other civilians continue to be held as prisoners of war for several years. We regard this practice as the taking of hostages.

Until now, the specific legislative instruments used by Russian security forces to justify these actions remained unknown. Under the Constitution of the Russian Federation, detention is permitted only by virtue of a court decision.