Kamil Kasimov is a political prisoner
A soldier who refused to fight in Ukraine and left for Kazakhstan was illegally returned to Russia and sentenced to six years in a strict regime penal colony
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Kamil Kasimov a political prisoner. Kasimov was convicted on a charge of desertion for refusing to continue taking part in the war against Ukraine. He had left Russia for Kazakhstan. Kasimov’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Kamil Kasimov and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Kamil Kasimov?
In 2021, Kamil Kasimov, a resident of Tyumen, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence and went to serve in a missile brigade in Ulan-Ude. A month before the full-scale invasion in 2022, the brigade was deployed to the border with Ukraine. Kasimov did not want to fight, but the military command forced him by means of threats to extend his contract.
Kasimov found himself at war, but in May 2023 he was granted leave, and he decided not to return to the front. He left for Kazakhstan, found a job there and applied for political asylum. Kasimov told Kazakhstani human rights activists that he did not support the policies of the Russian authorities, who had unleashed the war against Ukraine.
On 23 April 2024, Russian military investigators, together with Kazakhstani security forces, detained Kasimov directly at the factory in Astana where he was working. They took him to a Russian military base in Priozersk, Kazakhstan, from where he was transported to Russia.
On 13 August 2024, a military court in Omsk sentenced Kamil Kasimov to six years in a strict regime penal colony on a charge of desertion committed during mobilisation (Article 338, Part 3, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Why do we consider Kamil Kasimov a political prisoner?
Criminal prosecution for refusing to participate in a war of aggression is unlawful. Following the announcement of mobilisation in autumn 2022, the Russian authorities deprived contract soldiers of the right to resign of their own volition, effectively making their contracts indefinite. Leaving the country was the only way for Kasimov to end his service and stop participating in the war.
The ban on resigning from military service contravenes the Russian Constitution and international law, which recognises the right to refuse military service on grounds of conscience, and all the more so the right to refuse to participate in a war of aggression.
For Kasimov, refusing to serve was an expression of his disagreement with the Russian authorities’ policy of military aggression and the war against Ukraine. Kasimov did not act out of personal gain. He understood the risk of criminal prosecution and took that risk on grounds of conscience.
Kamil Kasimov was handed over to the Russian security forces despite the fact that he had sought political asylum in Kazakhstan. He was detained and taken to Russia in gross violation of the law, which calls into question the legality of his criminal prosecution.
A detailed description of Kamil Kasimov’s case and of our position is available on our website.
How can you help?
If you have information about Kamil Kasimov’s place of detention, please let us know by email: [email protected].
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
