TRC without balaclavas and only under video recording: the commission proposed new rules for mobilization measures

A draft resolution No. 15332 "On the report of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on investigating possible violations of Ukrainian legislation in the field of defense, anti-corruption legislation, and observance of human rights and freedoms during martial law on the work performed" has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

The purpose of the document is to submit a written report of the Commission's six months of activity to the parliament. The draft proposes to take note of the report and publish it on the official website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Results of the Commission's work over six months

During the reporting period, the Commission:

• held 20 meetings;
• held 3 briefings;
• heard over 70 representatives of state authorities, law enforcement agencies, TRC, institutions, organizations, and citizens;
• adopted 9 decisions;
• sent over 60 inquiries.

An Expert Council was created to support investigations, consisting of 18 specialists and representatives of state institutions, as well as three specialized working groups in the areas of defense, anti-corruption legislation, and human rights.

Covered faces during mobilization measures

One of the Commission's areas of work was studying the practice of using balaclavas and neck gaiters by TRC representatives and police officers during mobilization measures.

The report states that the Commission analyzed numerous video materials from social networks, media, and citizen appeals, which recorded cases where the faces of notification group members were fully or partially covered.

The Commission indicated that hiding the face during interaction with civilians complicates or makes it impossible to subsequently identify officials, causes psychological resistance among citizens, and contradicts the principle of openness of state bodies' activities.

During hearings with heads of various TRC, they reported that the use of balaclavas is not an acceptable practice, and neck gaiters are intended solely for protection against weather conditions.

Body cameras and video recording of mobilization measures

A separate section of the report is dedicated to the use of photo and video recording means.

During the Commission meeting, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, presented statistics on citizen appeals regarding actions of TRC representatives:

• 2022 — 18 appeals;
• 2023 — 514 appeals;
• 2024 — 3,319 appeals;
• 2025 — 6,014 appeals.

Among the most frequent complaints, the Ombudsman named violations of military registration procedures, unlawful detention, restriction of freedom of movement, and unlawful actions by notification groups.

The Commission identified several problems in the use of body cameras:

1) Lack of separate accounting of violations

The National Police reported that separate accounting of official investigations due to absence or switching off of body cameras is not maintained.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense provided information on official investigations regarding non-use of video recorders in various regions, and the Volyn Regional TRC reported 16 protocols for negligent attitude to military service drawn up after the mandatory use of body cameras was introduced.

2) Problem of stopping video recording

The Commission drew attention to a Ministry of Defense Instruction provision allowing video recording to be stopped in case of threat of capturing military objects or restricted access information in the frame.

The report notes that this provision covers too broad a range of situations and can be used to stop recording possible violations.

3) Problems during delivery of citizens

The Commission found that during administrative detention and delivery of citizens to TRC, continuous video recording is practically not ensured, as police officers and detainees often move in different vehicles.

Also, body cameras record events only in front of the device carrier, which does not allow full documentation of events inside the transport.

4) Deletion of video recordings after 30 days

According to the current Ministry of Defense instruction, body camera recordings are stored for 30 days.

The Commission noted that due to the time required for forwarding and reviewing citizen appeals, video materials may be automatically deleted before the completion of complaint checks or review of lawyer requests.

Therefore, the Commission recommended increasing the minimum storage period of recordings to 90 calendar days.

Recommendations regarding mobilization measures

Based on the investigation results, the Commission recommended prohibiting the operation of notification groups when their members are not equipped with functioning body cameras and means of reading electronic military registration documents.

It was also proposed to introduce mandatory continuous video recording for TRC representatives and police officers during mobilization measures.

Separately, the Commission recommended equipping vehicles used to transport conscripts with means of continuous video recording inside the cabin.

Additionally, it is proposed to increase the storage period of body camera recordings from 30 to 90 days.

Another recommendation was to introduce separate accounting of official investigations regarding cases of absence, switching off, or loss of body camera recordings during mobilization measures.

Interaction of NABU, SAP, and State Financial Monitoring Service

Another area of work was studying interagency interaction between NABU, SAP, and the State Financial Monitoring Service within the "MIDAS" case.

The report states that NABU does not see systemic problems in interaction with SAP but reported isolated cases of untimely or poor-quality execution of requests by the State Financial Monitoring Service.

Examples include cases where responses to requests were received many months after submission or remained unfulfilled.

The Commission reported that it continues analyzing materials within the "MIDAS" case and has not yet formed final conclusions.

Conclusions

The Temporary Investigative Commission noted in the report that over six months of work, a significant volume of documents and materials in the fields of defense, anti-corruption legislation, and human rights protection has been accumulated. A large part of the information continues to be processed, so final conclusions on most studied issues have not yet been formed.

Therefore, the Commission proposed that the Verkhovna Rada take note of the report and continue its work for the entire term defined by the resolution establishing the TIC.

Additionally, read how earlier the Ministry of Defense did not establish a ban on wearing balaclavas by TRC servicemen, and the decision on their use is made by commanders on site.

Also, you can familiarize yourself with a decision where a court fined a TRC officer 30,600 UAH for conducting mobilization measures with violations, including without video recording and using means that covered the faces of notification group members.

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