Edmon Marukyan Proposes Monthly Benefits for Families of Captured Individuals

Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the Bright Armenia faction in the National Assembly, announced on his Facebook page that the Bright Armenia faction has introduced a package of legislative proposals aimed at regulating the financial security of families of our compatriots who have been captured or are missing.

Specifically, the current law stipulates that contracted servicemen who have been captured retain their official salary, which is only paid once it is confirmed that their capture was not the result of voluntarily leaving their military unit or service location, or surrendering willingly.

Under the current law, captured servicemen are effectively treated as guilty until proven otherwise. This means that the presumption of innocence guaranteed by the Constitution is violated. Furthermore, this is not at all the treatment that our servicemen deserve.

Additionally, the law does not provide any state support for missing servicemen, contracted conscripts who have been captured, volunteers, or other civilians.

The proposal includes monthly financial aid for families of servicemen who have been captured or declared missing due to military operations, including those who have participated in combat activities on a voluntary basis, until it is proven in the legal proceedings that a crime has been committed. The proposal also suggests providing monthly benefits to the family members of civilians who have been captured.