JRL NEWSWATCH: “Belief or Betrayal? Ukraine’s Conscientious Objectors Face Hostility.” – New York Times
- links to ad -
“The option of ‘alternative service’ vanished after martial law was declared last year. But some have refused to serve, and now face jail time and skepticism about their motives.”
“… While these cases are few — and frequently dismissed by Ukrainians as a cloak for pro-Russian sympathies or just fear — they raise questions about respect for human rights in a country that up until the full-scale invasion allowed for ‘alternative service’ on religious grounds. … [T]o date only one conscientious objector has served jail time. Some objectors have received suspended sentences … [S]ome cases have not yet been resolved. … [C]onscientious objectors represent a tiny segment of a broader phenomenon creeping beneath the surface …. fatigue and wariness about the draft … [T]he pool for eager recruits has thinned, while mobilization has enlisted thousands. While countless Ukrainian men have taken drastic measures to dodge the draft, a subtler trend [reportedly] is also at play: … adjusting routines to avoid document checks or running into recruiters. …”