Contract soldier from Chechnya sentenced to a year for leaving his military unit

In Grozny, Alan Batyrkhanov, who had signed a contract for military service, has been sentenced to a year in prison for more than two-week-long absence from his military unit. The court in Rostov-on-Don, where Batyrkhanov's defence filed an appeal, has refused to commute the verdict, despite the contusion that Alan received at the special military operation (SMO) zone and the pregnancy of his wife.

Alan Batyrkhanov, who took part in the SMO in Ukraine, has been sentenced to a year in prison for leaving the unit. According to his version, he left the unit for more than two weeks, because he wanted to "have a rest from the hardships of the military service," the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project reports.

It follows from the ruling of the Southern District Military Court, Batyrkhanov was absent from the unit on January 5-24, 2023. The contractor himself and his defence treat the verdict as too severe. The appeal says that Batyrkhanov voluntarily came to the military commandant's office and wrote a confession; the court also failed to take into account that his wife was pregnant and was on parental leave. Batyrkhanov also claimed that he received a contusion at the SMO and was temporarily unfit for service.

The court has noted that all the above arguments had been taken into account and were not grounds for reducing the prison term; and Batyrkhanov received the minimum punishment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that a court in Grozny had sentenced Vyacheslav Andrienko, a military serviceman, to two years in prison for leaving the unit without permission. He was absent from his unit for more than two weeks.