Russian police rounded up Muslim worshippers exiting a mosque and brought them to a military enlistment office for the war in Ukraine. Videos shared on social media showed young men inside a moving bus, outside a military recruitment office and in a barracks with bunk beds. Lawyers are not allowed to see the men and they are forced to sign a contract.
MOSCOW OCTOBER 24: In a bid to recruit Ukraine war soldiers, Russian police rounded up Muslim worshippers exiting a Moscow region mosque and brought them to a military enlistment office for the war in Ukraine, according to a report.
Riot police (OMON) burst into the mosque on Kotelniki and took the migrants present there to a military unit. The worshippers were transported to neighboring Lyubertsy. Videos shared on social media over the weekend showed young men inside a moving bus, outside a military recruitment office and in a barracks with bunk beds.
The detainees’ documents were taken away and sent for a medical examination. Lawyers are not allowed to see the men and they are forced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
OMON is a system of special police units within the National Guard of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs. In 2021 OMON officers tortured Jehovah’s Witnesses in Irkutsk in an attempt to make them inform about other members. OMON also took part in the Second Chechen War and was often accused of severe human rights abuses, including abducting, torturing, raping and killing civilians.
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