Can a Soldier Refuse an Order Due to Religious Beliefs: Supreme Court's Response

The presence of genuine religious beliefs in servicemen is not a basis for refusing to carry out orders from military command if, at the time of announcing these orders, the accused were informed of the intention to involve them during service in performing functions not related to the use of weapons, in particular for carrying out tasks related to engineering (fortification) equipment of defense lines. This conclusion was made by the Third Judicial Panel of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court in case No. 459/2030/24.

Case Circumstances

Conscripts openly refused to comply with the acting commander’s order to go on a business trip to another military unit to perform tasks related to engineering (fortification) equipment of defense lines, as well as the order to receive military uniforms; to bring their appearance in line with current legislation; to receive personal protective equipment (ballistic helmet, bulletproof vest); and to ensure proper storage of the received gear.

Positions of the Courts of First and Appellate Instances

The lower courts found the servicemen guilty and convicted them under Part 4 of Article 402 of the Criminal Code, while acquitting them under Part 4 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code.

In the cassation appeal, the defense argued that the acts attributed to the servicemen cannot be qualified under Article 402 of the Criminal Code since after the orders were announced, they did not express refusal to execute them. It emphasized that sending the accused as servicemen to regular military units in the combat zone and the obligation to equip themselves for task execution effectively equates them to combatants, which contradicts their religious beliefs.

Position of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court

The decisions of the lower courts were changed, and the accused were released from serving the sentence with probation under Article 75 of the Criminal Code.

The panel of judges noted that the defense in the cassation appeal stated that during the trial it was established that the accused, having been baptized in the "Bethany" church in Mariupol, remain members of this church, which has been registered since January 8, 1992, as the religious organization "Religious Community (Church) of Evangelical Christian Baptists 'Bethany' of Mariupol, Donetsk region." Before the full-scale invasion, the accused were not only members but actively participated in its activities, and in 2022, due to the full-scale Russian invasion and hostilities (during which the church building was destroyed), as well as the occupation of Mariupol, they were forced to relocate to Novovolynsk. According to the defense, this excludes the unlawful nature of their arguments regarding the impossibility of fulfilling military duty (orders) and indicates the absence of intent to refuse to execute orders.

The panel considers that the courts reasonably rejected the defense’s claim that the accused’s genuine religious beliefs justify refusal to execute orders and correctly noted that at the time of announcing the orders, the accused were informed of their military positions: the first accused as a bricklayer-soldier, the second as a carpenter-soldier, which is confirmed, among other things, by the inspection protocol and proves the intention to involve them in performing functions not related to the use of weapons, specifically for engineering (fortification) tasks of defense lines.

In this context, the courts also noted contradictions in the accused’s testimonies, as they denied refusing to execute orders due to religious beliefs while simultaneously refusing to comply with the orders.

However, as the courts reasonably concluded in the appealed decisions, the refusal of the accused to execute the orders was confirmed.

The decision of the Third Judicial Panel of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated May 20, 2026, in case No. 459/2030/24 (proceeding No. 51-2079km25) can be found at this link.

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