Proposal to Grant Amnesty to Young Men Over 27 Accused of Avoiding Military Service: Marukyan

The leader of the "Enlightened Armenia" faction in the National Assembly, Edmon Marukyan, made a post on his Facebook page relating to his earlier proposal to grant amnesty to male citizens of Armenia who have reached the age of 27 and are wanted for evading military service as per Article 327 of the Armenian criminal code.

Marukyan specifically noted that his proposal had been rejected, yet the government has not taken any steps towards resolving the issue. His post stated:

“Dear citizens, dear compatriots in the diaspora,

As many of you are aware, on February 20, I appealed to the government with a proposal to initiate a law on amnesty, extending it to individuals who have reached the age of 27 and are accused under parts 1 and 2 of Article 327 of the Armenian criminal code (evading mandatory military or alternative service, training sessions, or mobilizations).

This proposal was rejected, and to date, no steps have been initiated by the government to address the issue. Meanwhile, the validity period of the Law on 'Citizens Who Did Not Complete Mandatory Military Service in Violation of Established Procedure' expired on December 31, 2019, and has not been extended. Therefore, approximately 4,000 male citizens over 27 years old (non-draftees) are currently wanted, and this law does not apply to them. Consequently, any of them who return to the country will face criminal liability.

Naturally, none of them will wish to return until the statute of limitations, as defined by the criminal code, expires.

Thus, the demographic issue will only deepen, while these citizens could return, become reserve officers, start families, have children, work here, and contribute to the prosperity of their homeland.

According to Article 117 of the Constitution of Armenia, the National Assembly may adopt a law on amnesty by a majority vote of the total number of deputies at the proposal of the government. Thus, the faction or an individual deputy cannot introduce a draft law on amnesty. Only the government can approach the National Assembly with such an initiative.

It should also be noted that the last amnesty covered even particularly serious crimes, while evading military or alternative service, training sessions, or mobilizations (only parts 1 and 2 of Article 327) is a medium-level crime.

Therefore, I once again appeal to the government to propose the adoption of a law on amnesty, extending it to individuals over 27 years old accused under parts 1 and 2 of Article 327 of the Armenian criminal code.”