Gas Sprays, Batons, and Handcuffs: Do Territorial Recruitment Center Employees Have the Right to Use Them Against Civilians
Employees of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers do not have the right to use handcuffs, gas sprays, rubber batons, or other special means against civilians. If such cases do occur, they are not part of the official practice of the Territorial Recruitment Centers and are considered violations of discipline by individual servicemen.
Employees of the Territorial Recruitment Centers are prohibited from using handcuffs, gas sprays, and batons
During a meeting of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on investigating possible violations of legislation in the field of defense, anti-corruption legislation, and the observance of human rights and freedoms under martial law, it was reported that employees of the Territorial Recruitment Centers do not have the right to use any special means against civilians.
The prohibition extends to gas sprays, rubber batons, handcuffs, as well as cold and firearms.
The Territorial Recruitment Centers explained what cases of using special means mean
At the same time, the Territorial Recruitment Centers emphasized that if individual servicemen still use special means against civilians, such actions are not provided for by the rules of the Territorial Recruitment Centers and are not official practice.
As stated by the acting head of the Poltava Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, Taras Hrynko, employees of the recruitment centers "are not allowed to use any means against the civilian population." According to him, this concerns not only gas sprays, rubber batons, or handcuffs but also cold and firearms.
He stressed that each case of using such means is a manifestation of personal indiscipline of individual servicemen, not the execution of official instructions or an authorized practice of the Territorial Recruitment Centers.
Thus, the use of special means against civilians is not provided for by any rules of the Territorial Recruitment Centers' activities, so such actions should be regarded as disciplinary violations by specific individuals, not as a policy or method of the institution’s work.
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