Amnesty Will Be Applied to Those Who Avoided Military Service

The proposal is to declare an amnesty that would exempt individuals who have been sentenced to deprivation of liberty from punishment, provided that their sentence has not been conditionally applied or has been deferred. This was stated today by Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan during the government meeting discussing the draft law on declaring an amnesty for individuals who have avoided the upcoming draft for compulsory military service or alternative service.

He noted that the purpose of this draft law is to provide an opportunity for individuals who have avoided compulsory military or alternative service, training exercises, or mobilization calls to contribute to the development of Armenia's economic, social, spiritual, and cultural sectors. The foundation of this initiative is based on the principles of humanity and solidarity.

Rustam Badasyan explained that this law applies to those who avoided their service obligations by September 26, 2020, which is up to the date of the outbreak of the war, specifically targeting male citizens who turned 27 during that time for regular service and 35 for reserve officers, as well as those who avoided declared training exercises and/or mobilization calls and are suspected, accused, or convicted under the first part of Article 327 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

“Individuals who are wanted on the basis of this article will also benefit from the amnesty. Referring to statistical data, we have identified two groups of statistics. The first pertains to the statistical data regarding the application of the previous amnesty act, as well as the number of repeat offenders,” he said, adding that the proposed amnesty could extend to a maximum of 5,131 individuals suspected under the first part of Article 327 who are wanted, and up to 124 convicted individuals.