Lubinets: TCC personnel are prohibited from using force, making threats, and confiscating phones

Employees of territorial recruitment and social support centers have no right to use physical force, threaten people, or confiscate their personal belongings.

This was stated by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

What TCC personnel are prohibited from doing

According to the ombudsman, TCC and SP employees are prohibited from using physical force and threats, confiscating phones, documents, or other personal belongings. In addition, they have no right to detain a person on TCC and SP premises without legal grounds.

At the same time, Lubinets clarified that the powers of TCC and SP employees include: checking military registration documents, serving summonses and other documents in the manner prescribed by law, referring individuals to a military medical commission (MMC), and maintaining military records.

The ombudsman also emphasized that during an MMC examination, a person’s health condition and medical documents must be taken into account, and lawful grounds for deferment must be properly considered.

Lubinets specifically noted that fulfilling one’s military duty does not mean forfeiting one’s rights, and demanded that violations that occurred under the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense not be repeated.

“I have already repeatedly stressed: the legacy of the previous leadership of the MoD must not be repeated. Violations of rights during mobilization are also the responsibility of the new Commander-in-Chief,” Lubinets concluded.

Reaction to specific incidents

Earlier, Lubinets responded to a video showing people in military and civilian clothing entering a private home in Khmelnytsky Oblast. The ombudsman sent a letter to the Office of the Prosecutor General to establish all the circumstances and those involved. According to him, if the violations are confirmed, an appropriate legal assessment must be made.

Lubinets also responded to a report about a military-age man who ended up in intensive care after being held at the Zvenyhorodka district TCC. According to the victim, physical force was used against him and he was doused with cold water, after which doctors diagnosed multiple broken ribs, a ruptured lung, and pneumothorax. Following the man’s complaint, Lubinets sent letters to the Military Law Enforcement Service and the Cherkasy Oblast police, and the head of the district TCC was dismissed from his post.