MOSCOW. Nov 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The number of people wanted for desertion from their military units has been in decline in the past three years, Major General Vladimir Mulov, Moscow city military prosecutor, has said.
"There were over 300 people of that kind [in the Moscow garrison], but now there are a bit over 100 servicemen on the [wanted] list," Mulov said in an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
Eight runaways have been detained, while 13 more soldiers have turned themselves in voluntarily in the past 1.5 months, he said.
As soon as a person turns himself in to any state institution, the period of his desertion is suspended, Mulov went on. If the desertion cause is legitimate, such as hazing or extortion, facts are checked, and the case is closed. "Anyway, we are trying to help the person obtain documents and become a normal citizen. Of course, if he has not committed anything criminal," he said.
Asked how long runaways may hide, Mulov said that a recently detained soldier was hiding from the law for six years after his desertion. "But there are people who were on the run for 12 years. We send all detainees to the military medical board. If a man is hiding for many years, there must be something wrong with him, for instance, with his mind. Doctors often find such miserable soldiers sick, and we close their cases," he noted.