Article 263. Quitting the field of battle without permission, or refusal to use a weapon
Quitting the field of battle without permission during combat, or refusing to use a weapon during combat—
- shall be punishable by death, or by deprivation of freedom for a period of 15 years.
Article 264. Voluntary surrender
Voluntary surrender out of cowardice or pusillanimity— shall be punishable by death, or by deprivation of freedom for a period of 15 years.
Article 265. Criminal acts by a military prisoner of war
- a) The voluntary participation, by a military man who is a prisoner of war, in activities of a military nature or in other measures clearly capable of causing, damage to the Soviet Union or to its allies, in the absence of indicia of treason—
- shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of from three to ten years;
- b) violence toward other prisoners of war, or harsh treatment of the latter on the part of a prisoner of war who is in the position of senior officer present—
- shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of from three to ten years;
- c) the commission by military personnel who are prisoners of war, of acts having the purpose of harming other prisoners of war, for venal motives or for the purpose of assuring lenience towards oneself on the part of the enemy—
- shall be punishable by a deprivation of freedom for a period of from one to three years.
Article 266. Pillage
The theft, on the field of battle, of articles found on the person of dead and wounded personnel (pillage)—
- shall be punishable by depreciation of freedom for a period of from three to ten years, or by death.
Article 257. Violence toward inhabitants of a battle zone
Armed robbery, the illegal destruction of property, violence, and in like manner the illegal seizure of property under the pretext of military necessity, committed with respect to the inhabitants of a battle zone—
- shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of from three to ten years, or by death.
