Probe launched against Ukrainian citizen suspected of solicitation of using banned means and ways of warfare


The department for investigating crimes connected to use of prohibited means and ways of warfare of the Head Office of the Investigative Committee has opened an investigation against citizen of Ukraine Aleksandr Chernov suspected of a crime under Part 4 of Article 33, Part 1 of Article 356 of the RF Penal Code (solicitation to use prohibited means and ways of warfare).

According to investigators, on 20 June 2016, Aleksandr Chernov who had previously worked as an anesthesiologist in town hospital No 7 in the town of Yenakiyevo, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, gave an interview to a journalist of a Ukrainian TV channel. In that interview he publicly called on doctors of Ukraine to provide only subpar treatment to the civilians wounded as a result of cease-fire violation in southeastern Ukraine, those who do not wish to recognize the current authority of Ukraine legitimate. Chernov inclined doctors to give such patients medicines that would not treat them, and thus let them die. The video of the interview was showed by the TV channel and posted on the Internet.

By his actions Chernov violated provisions of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Geneva, 12.08.1949) and Additional Protocol II (Geneva, 08.06.1977).

In accordance with the Agreement of the Trilateral Contact group (Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic) for settling an armed non-international conflict in southeastern Ukraine fire had to be ceased since 15.02.2015 in some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, heavy weapons had to be withdrawn and some other operations ceased. In the same time, according to daily reports of a special monitoring mission of the OSCE international observers the cease-fire was violated before 20.06.2016 in some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions causing wounds to civilians who did not wish to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian authority and they were taken to hospitals.

According to Part 3 of Article 12 of the RF Penal Code foreign citizens who do not live in the Russian Federation but have committed a crime abroad are subject to criminal liability under the Russian Penal Code in cases provided by the international agreement with the Russian Federation.

I believe that in this situation there is no point in discuss basic morals and ethics in medicine laid out in the International Code of Medial Ethics. Those who made those rules could not even imagine that the one who is honored to be a doctor would do such a thing, and with a smile on his face to boast about his skill “to do maximum harm to enemy’s patients” and prevent his colleagues from helping those patients. Such behavior is well beyond any medical ethics and falls under criminal bans by all means. And if the country the so-called medic was born in and lives in does not understand that, the only thing we can do is to sympathize with his compatriots.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                                                           V.I. Markin 

22 June 2016 10:25

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