6 Participants of Tri-Monthly Assemblies Failed to Fulfill Service Responsibilities: Prosecutor's Office

As previously reported, from August 25, 2021, tri-monthly training assemblies for reserve military personnel have been initiated in the Republic of Armenia aimed at improving the military capabilities of reservists, professional retraining, and preparation, as well as training reserve officers with higher education from the junior command staff. Within these frameworks, mobilization is being conducted across the country.

This information has been provided by the Prosecutor's Office.

The Military Prosecutor's Office of Armenia, in accordance with its authority, has been monitoring the compliance of this process with legislative requirements, protecting the rights of participants in the assemblies, and ensuring adequate legal evaluations of any possible criminal manifestations during the organization and implementation of the tri-monthly assemblies. It has been recorded that since the beginning of the process from August 25, 2021, the tri-monthly assemblies have been conducted at an appropriate level, with conscripted citizens properly presenting themselves at military service locations, demonstrating high levels of responsibility and civic awareness, and no trends of criminal behavior against military service have been reported.

During this period, information has been received regarding six participants in the tri-monthly assemblies for alleged failures to fulfill service duties. Based on the materials prepared, two decisions have been made by the prosecuting authority to reject the initiation of a criminal case on the grounds of the absence of a crime, while one criminal case has been initiated regarding one individual under the characteristics of Article 361, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Preparations for materials are ongoing in three cases.

Due to preventive and informational considerations, the Military Prosecutor's Office finds it necessary to inform that military service through mobilization, according to the Law of the Republic of Armenia on "Military Service and the Status of Military Personnel," is a type of military service. In this context, participants recruited for tri-monthly training assemblies are granted the same rights, obligations, and measures of criminal liability that are provided to active military personnel.

Consequently, any case of voluntarily leaving a military unit or service location, failing to present for duty, or refusal to fulfill certain duties of military service by participants in the assembly will be subject to legal assessment.

Within the frameworks of the tri-monthly assemblies, prosecutors from the Military Prosecutor’s Office are holding meetings with all conscripted reservists, providing them with detailed information regarding their rights and obligations stemming from their status, possible criminal behavior, its legal consequences, and answering their questions.