Conscription Candidate Declared Fit for Service Without Proper Medical Check, Says HCAV

Despite serious health issues, the conscription candidate was declared fit for military service with restrictions. This information was reported by the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly to NEWS.am.

Following a correspondence from HCAV addressed to the Ministry of Defense, a medical re-examination was conducted, which concluded that the candidate was unfit for military service.

On August 25, 2020, the conscription candidate, A.Y., approached the Vanadzor office of HCAV regarding the protection of his rights. A.Y. had received a 3-year deferment during the summer conscription of 2017 due to spinal wedging deformity, thoracic scoliosis, high blood pressure, and other health issues.

As the deferment period expired, during the summer conscription of 2020, he was referred for a health assessment to “Erebuni” Medical Center by the medical commission of the territorial subdivision in the Lori region. Subsequently, a check-up was carried out by the central medical commission at “Natali-Pharm” LLC, which diagnosed a “slight wedging deformity of the second lumbar vertebra, flattening of thoracic kyphosis, and first-degree functional impairment of thoracic scoliosis.” Based on this, A.Y. was declared conditionally fit for military service according to Article 36, Section G of Government Decision 404.

Disagreeing with the results of the health assessments and the conclusions of the central medical commission, A.Y. voluntarily underwent an MRI of the spine, which revealed that his health condition had not improved but had worsened. A 0.5 cm herniated disc was detected in the lumbar-sacral region, qualifying him for examination as per Article 16, Section B of Government Decision 404, thus determining that the conscription candidate was temporarily unfit for military service.

HCAV's Vanadzor office requested the Minister of Defense to arrange for A.Y. to undergo further health evaluations and to reconsider his eligibility for military service. It was only after HCAV’s correspondence and demand that the Ministry of Defense referred A.Y. to Yerevan's No. 2 Medical Center for a check-up, which, due to the completion of the summer conscription period in 2020, took place during the winter conscription of 2020.

As a result, A.Y. was declared unfit for military service during the winter conscription of 2020 and was exempted from military service. It can be noted that due to improper medical examination during the conscription, the candidate was effectively deemed fit for military service despite suffering from serious health issues, whereas his condition actually warranted a temporary unfitness ruling.