The Pshibiev case highlighted the draft boards' formal approach to examinations

The Nalchik military commissariat filed an appeal against the court's decision to collect compensation for the illegal conscription of local resident Eldar Pshibiyev.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, the Nalchik city court ordered the Russian Defense Ministry to pay compensation to Eldar Pshibiyev, who was called up for service despite a diagnosed heart defect. Pshibiyev served for eight months and was hospitalized.

The Nalchik military registration and enlistment office filed an appeal against the court decision in the case of Eldar Pshibiyev. The defendants in the case were the Russian Ministry of Defense, the draft board of the Nalchik military registration and enlistment office, and the draft board of the Kabardino-Balkaria military registration and enlistment office. The court, having awarded compensation to Pshibiyev, did not take any measures against the officials who illegally drafted him into service.

The draft board of the Nalchik military registration and enlistment office knew that Pshibiyev had a disease that excluded him from being drafted, the draft board physician Zarema Kunizheva and the draft board secretary, physician Ovchinnikova, confirmed in court. They explained that the final decision on conscription is made by a higher draft board. Zarema Kunizheva also told the court that it was her handwriting that wrote the diagnosis on the cover of the conscript's personal file so that the higher draft board would pay attention to his illness when making the final decision. The doctors questioned in court also confirmed that Eldar Pshibiev's illness is serious and physical activity is contraindicated.

The court's decision notes that Pshibiev should have undergone a control medical examination, but this was not done, and he was not given a referral for additional examination, in violation of the law. Pshibiev was called up for military service by decision of the Nalchik draft board, and then the draft board of the republic without the participation of a cardiologist, without examining medical documents and without taking into account the illness that entitled him to exemption from conscription.

Military law lawyer Natalia Getalova indicated that the fact of Pshibiev's illegal conscription has been established. Although Pshibiev applied to the draft board three times for a referral to a hospital for examination, he never received it.

Ministry of Defense representative Mariana Gonibowa stated in court that the claims were unfounded. She pointed out that the board's conclusion on Pshibiev's fitness for service was issued on December 18, 2023, approved on January 18, 2024, and he was excluded from the lists of personnel of the military unit only on July 16, 2024 - that is, according to the defendant's representative, Pshibiev could have acquired the disease later than the period when he was declared fit for military service. She also asked to take into account that the plaintiff had missed the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit.

She also pointed out that the draft boards are not part of the organizational structure of military commissariats and the Ministry of Defense itself, which means that the department cannot influence the decisions of the boards and be held responsible for their actions. In addition, in her opinion, the fact of causing moral and physical suffering to Pshibiev has not been proven.

Nalchik lawyer Oleg Sergeev drew attention to the fact that the federal law "On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens in the Russian Federation" protects the rights of conscripts and establishes liability for officials who have created a threat to human life and health by concealing certain facts and circumstances. In his opinion, in the situation with Pshibiev, there was a formal approach by the draft board to the examination.

“The law regulates the right of conscripts and military personnel to undergo a military medical examination to determine their fitness for military service and for early dismissal from military service based on the conclusion of the military medical commission. At the same time, a conscript or military personnel has the right to receive full information about medical contraindications for military service or exemption from conscription due to health reasons,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

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