MOSCOW. Nov 20 (Interfax-AVN) - Military courts have sentenced nearly 200 officers of the Russian Armed Forces and other law-enforcement agencies for illegal use of force this year, Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanov, deputy chief military prosecutor, said on Thursday.
"Though the crime level in the army is nearly twice as low as in the country in general, military prosecutors and investigators have been finding more frequently the lack of due legal knowledge among commanders of various levels and their inability to react adequately to conflicts emerging inevitably in military units. Military courts have sentenced nearly 200 officers for manhandling this year," Ivanov told parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council.
In the 10 months of 2003, military prosecutors exposed over 82,000 law violations in the troops they supervise, the general went on. "Among them are nearly 20,000 illegal orders by commanders concerning subordinates. Intervention of prosecutor's officers was required to restore violated rights of over 216,000 servicemen," he said.
Ivanov called for drafting the bill "Concerning the Disciplinary Arrest of Servicemen" and speeding up its submission to the State Duma.