THE CITY COURT OF OBNINSK RECOGNIZES THE RIGHT TO CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION
(Obninsk - Moscow, October 10, 1997) -- Yesterday, on the 9-th of October, the City Court of Obninsk (region of Kaluga) made an award on a complaint lodged by draftee Dmitrij Gorbunov against the conscription commission. Last May this commission called Gorbunov to the colors although he had declared that he was a conscientious objector and had applied for alternative civilian service instead of military service.
Tat'jana Kotl'jar, Deputy of the City Assembly of Obninsk and Vice-president of the General Council of the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA), represented interests of Dmitrij Gorbunov in the Court. In the course of the sitting the Procurator of the City of Obninsk confirmed that the claim lodged by the draftee was valid. Judge Nikitina recognized the right of Dmitrij Gorbunov to conscientious objection and his right to replace military service by alternative civilian service. She also annulled the decision to call Gorbunov to the colors and charged the conscription commission to delay his conscription until the Alternative Civilian Service Federal Law comes into force.
Antimilitarist Radical Association struggles for the soonest adoption of a democratic and non-discriminatory Alternative Civilian Service Law. According to article 59.3. of the Russian Constitution, such a law should guarantee to every citizen a free choice between army barracks and socially useful work. In December 1994 the State Duma adopted the Alternative Civilian Service Draft Law in first reading. However, for nearly three years this draft law remains in the depths of the Duma Defense Committee. General Lev Rokhlin, head of Defense Committee is one of the main enemies of the constitutional right to alternative civilian service.
In 1997 during the spring conscription campaign 675 Russian citizens demanded officially to be sent for alternative civilian service instead of military service. Now ARA together with Chastnyj Sluchaj (Particular Case) telecast, TV-6 Moscow channel, carries out a Civil Obedience Campaign. The objective of this campaign is to inform draftees about their constitutional rights, to persuade them to apply for alternative civilian service and to increase considerably the number of conscientious objectors achieving the limit of seven thousand persons.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D ANTI-MILITARIST RADICAL ASSOCIATION (ARA) an association of the Transnational Radical Party Ul. Trubnaja 25-2-49, 103051 Moscow, Russia Tel./ fax 7 095 9239127 mailto:ara@glasnet.ru, a.r.a@agora.stm.it Internet URL: http://www.glasnet.ru/~ara
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =46ree thought, neccessarily involving freedom of=20 speech and press, I may tersely define thus:no=20 opinion a law-no opinion a crime. Alexander Berkman
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