Can’t read or write: a mentally retarded prisoner in the Russian Federation was sent to war

Relatives believe that he was given a military ID in the colony, since he was not registered with the military registration and enlistment office due to disability.

In Russia, a prisoner from Kemerovo with a disability due to delayed intellectual development was sent to fight in Ukraine . His relatives told Mediazona that the man cannot read or write.

Semyon Karmanov was sent to a colony in 2020 for stealing five thousand rubles. He was supposed to be released in April 2024, but a few months before his release he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, and he was sent to war in Ukraine.

Relatives believe that his military ID was given to him in the colony, since the young man was not registered with the military registration and enlistment office due to his disability.

“It was very difficult for him to study. He learned to count money, he knows some letters, but he can’t read words, sentences. <…> His signature in his passport is just the letter K,” said Semyon’s mother.

Karmanov himself contacted his family and said that in the colony he was sent for a medical examination and was declared fit for military service. According to the man, he was afraid that if he refused, his prison term would be increased.

(C)UNIAN 2023