Dear friends, our lawyer has analyzed the draft law 9579
(on amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, and other legislative acts regarding the conduct of criminal proceedings, which are impossible due to the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine and the temporary occupation of certain territories of Ukraine)
which is currently being actively discussed online.
We are pleased to provide a brief explanation of the draft law and the changes that will be possible if supported by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Commenting on this, UnMode states: Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine aimed at clarifying the legal status of Ukrainians who have served their sentences in occupied territories and in cases of forced displacement provide specific opportunities for forcibly displaced Ukrainian prisoners.
The essence of these amendments is that the time spent under occupation conditions will be counted towards the overall sentence. This procedure will be carried out through the court.
After the law is adopted, it is expected that the court will consider the following points: the period of punishment served according to the established legal procedure and the period since the execution of the sentence became impossible due to armed aggression and the temporary occupation of part of Ukraine's territory. If a person has not fully served their sentence due to armed aggression and occupation, the court may decide to release them from further serving the sentence.
This means that Ukrainians who were forcibly held in custody on territories temporarily occupied by russia will have the opportunity to appeal to a Ukrainian court to have their sentences lifted.
By recognizing verdicts issued in occupied territories, russia has essentially assumed the status of successor (effectively the occupier) to execute these verdicts. However, if a verdict was issued outside the occupied territories, there are no grounds for a Ukrainian sentenced individual to serve their sentence in a Russian colony according to russian legislation.
We want to emphasize that russia is obligated to review the verdicts of Ukrainian courts and bring them into line with russian legislation. Recall that as a general rule, no law or its revision can worsen the situation of convicts.
We also want to note that no review of verdicts has been carried out in russia to date.
https://sud.ua/uk/news/publication/277877-v-uk-vnesut-izmeneniya-ob-osvobozhdenii-po-res