MP warns: Armenian authorities ban citizens arriving from abroad from  leaving country

ArmInfo.Armenian authorities have banned citizens arriving from abroad, particularly from Russia, from leaving the country, issuing summonses to participate in 25-day military training. This is the message from Gegham Manukyan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition "Armenia" faction.

As the opposition member noted, the Armenian authorities, together  with Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, are essentially committing a  crime with the help of the military police and the military  commissariat. "It has become known that Armenians who previously  arrived in Armenia and wish to return to their country of residence  are unable to do so because they are banned from leaving. A travel  ban is typically issued if a person has committed a crime, is under  criminal prosecution, or for one reason or another has restrictions  on their absence from the country. However, the people I'm talking  about are unable to leave due to a ban imposed by the military  police," Manukyan explained in a video posted on his Facebook page.

The MP recalled that the military police can typically ban travel due  to conscription for military training.  He noted that this occurred  after Armenian authorities threatened that Armenians arriving from  Russia would be immediately sent to 25-day military training.  "Meanwhile, according to the law, citizens must be notified of 25-day  military training by email. If a person doesn't have an email  address, they must be notified in person by handing them a summons.  If it's not possible to deliver the information in person, the  notification must be sent through the Azdarar.am website. This means  it takes approximately 15-20 days to declare that a person has  refused to accept the notification or refuses to attend the training;  only then can criminal prosecution be initiated against them," the MP  explained.

In this regard, Manukyan expressed his belief that the Armenian  authorities have simply moved from threats to action. "I decided to  find out who exactly they had called up. It turns out they called up  a serviceman who had been demobilized only this year. He hasn't been  eligible for conscription for about a year. It's noteworthy that he  was called up three days after he wrote a post against Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Moreover, this happened at a time when his brother had just recently  been called up for military service. A 53-year-old Armenian man who  had arrived in the country on business was also called up.

It turns out that even a cleric was called up. A journalist who  served in the Artsakh Defense Army had also been called up for  uncovering the use of military personnel in the parliamentary  elections in Sotk," the opposition figure said.

Moreover, according to Manukyan, the call-up for military training  began on June 9. And according to the law, as the MP pointed out,  Armenian citizens must be notified of this three months in advance.

"This is how the current government treats the Armenian army. They  hate our army. Because they wouldn't have brought so many soldiers to  vote at 8:00 PM, when they're having dinner. A 25-day military  training camp is an honor, but this government continues to discredit  military service by forcing the military commissariat and military  police to commit crimes. But one day they will be punished for this,"  Manukyan concluded.

As a reminder, Armenian media previously circulated footage of men  arriving at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport being served summonses for  25-day reservist training camps by representatives of the country's  military police. Armenian authorities attempted to spread reports  that Russia would allegedly send up to 100,000 citizens to Armenia to  participate in the elections. No factual evidence was presented to  support these claims. However, in a conversation with journalists on  June 4, three days before the regular parliamentary elections in  Armenia, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan confirmed that  Armenian citizens arriving from Russia to vote could be served with  summonses for military training. The minister also assured that  similar summonses would also be served to citizens of France, the  United States, and other countries arriving in the country. He stated  that this requirement applies to all citizens liable for military  service. However, opposition representatives expressed the belief  that the authorities had turned the 25-day military training for  reservists into a punitive instrument.