Penalties for Avoiding Military Service to Be Strengthened

The government decided during its meeting on April 3 to tighten the criminal penalties for avoiding mandatory military or alternative service, as well as for evading training gatherings.

The proposed changes involve amendments to Articles 461 and 462 of the Criminal Code, increasing the penalties for such actions. Specifically, the current prison sentence of 2-5 years for avoiding mandatory military or alternative service will be replaced with a 3-6 year imprisonment. Additionally, the punishment for avoiding training gatherings will be set at 1-3 years of imprisonment, and the fines will also be tightened.

The changes are motivated by the increasing number of cases of evasion from military or alternative service, as well as from training gatherings. According to the government’s justification, in 2023, 1,499 criminal cases were initiated, with another 1,779 cases in 2024.

“This indicates the necessity for a revision of criminal policy and the adoption of a strict punitive policy against individuals committing the aforementioned acts,” the justification states.