Court rules that Odesa activist Gnezdilov will spend New Year's Eve in jail

On November 29, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv once again extended the pre-trial restraint for activist Serhiy Hnezdilov, a soldier of the 56th Brigade, who left the unit without permission in September.

According to hromadske, the activist will be held in custody until January 15 without the right to bail.

The prosecutor noted that law enforcement officers would not have time to review the pre-trial investigation materials by December 9, as determined by the Pechersk court in October. Therefore, he demanded to extend the measure of restraint against the serviceman until February 9.

Instead, Serhiy Gnezdilov's defense opposed the prosecution's motion. As explained by the lawyer Anastasia Burkovska, the defense recognizes that the activist left the unit without permission, but does not agree that he committed desertion, which the prosecutor's office is charging him with.

Earlier, the Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the previous decision of the Pechersk Court of Kyiv to keep Odesa activist and soldier of the 56th Brigade Serhiy Gnezdilov in the brig, who had left the military unit without permission. The meeting was attended by the suspect's friends, journalists and members of the movement for the establishment of clear terms of military service.

Serhiy Gnezdilov stated that he would go on a hunger strike if the legislation on demobilization was not developed and adopted, and added that he was ready to return to service if such a document was adopted.

He noted that service in the army without clear deadlines is turning into serfdom and "castration" of society. On October 11, Kyiv's Pechersk Court imposed a pre-trial restraint on Serhiy Hnezdilov, a soldier of the 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, in the form of two months in custody without bail.

In September, the activist said that he was leaving the military unit until the specific terms of service were determined. He noted that in this way he wanted to draw the attention of the authorities and society to the need to discuss this issue. In his opinion, many people are trying to avoid serving in the Armed Forces, while the infantry is bearing the brunt of the war without the prospect of demobilization.

Кирило Бойко