As it became known to Kommersant, the Krasnodar garrison military court passed a verdict in the case of army officer Vadim Bai, who was accused of failing to comply with an order to leave for a special military operation zone. The defendant’s defense stated that Bai was unable to go there due to health reasons. Lawyers said that when the officer’s name was put on the appropriate list by his superiors, he felt unwell due to drug use and needed treatment. Later, the military man really lay in the narcological department, but the acting chief doctor of the medical institution said that the patient was healthy, and he was discharged. As a result, Vadim Bai was assigned two years and nine months in a colony-settlement.
In Krasnodar, an officer of the Russian armed forces, Vadim Bai, was sentenced to two years and nine months in a colony-settlement for failure to comply with an order. Bai first served in the military under a contract from July 2010 to July 2015, and then, as an officer, from March 19, 2018 to the present. He has a higher education, is married and has a young child.
As stated in the case file, on July 26, 2022, Vadim Bai was ordered to go to the special military operation zone, but he did not.
A similar order was given to him a few months later, on 26 September. And this time, the order of the command was also not executed. After that, a criminal case was opened against the military man.
In court, Vadim Bai’s defense stated that he was unable to take part in the hostilities due to the deterioration of his health from drug use. Lawyers said that in December 2022, the defendant entered the narcological department for treatment. However, the acting chief physician of the medical institution where the military was located, said that Bai was healthy, and he was discharged due to simulation behavior. The military medical commission and the commission of psychiatric experts involved in the investigation of the criminal case found that Bai did not suffer and does not suffer from psychoactive substance dependence syndrome and does not need treatment and rehabilitation.
In this regard, the Krasnodar garrison military court found Bai guilty of failure to comply with the order, causing significant harm to the interests of the service and guilty of failure to comply with the order in an armed conflict (part 1, part 2.1 of article 332 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The defense appealed the verdict to the Southern District Military Court. Lawyer Tatyana Firsova noted that Bai’s medical documents, attached to the case file, were incorrectly assessed by the court of first instance in the verdict or completely ignored. According to the defender, the message of the acting chief physician of the dispensary was refuted by medical documents about Bay’s inpatient treatment in this institution from December 5 to 20, and also from December 23 to December 28, 2022.
Also in the appeal, the lawyer pointed out that during the investigation and in court, Bai gave contradictory testimony and first admitted guilt, and then denied it. The defense believes that Bay’s inconsistent behavior could indicate that he misunderstood “the current situation and the actions taken with him” against the backdrop of drug use.
Having considered the complaints, the Southern District Military Court left Vadim Bai’s verdict unchanged. The judgment has entered into force.
