Severer criminal punishment for reservists evading military training  to take effect 

ArmInfo.Criminal liability for reservists or conscripts evading military training will be tightened  in Armenia. The National Assembly Committee of the Republic of Armenia issued a positive conclusion on the amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia submitted by the Government  of the Republic of Armenia at its meeting on June 16. The amendments were adopted in the second and final reading by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of  Armenia Gevork Kocharyan, evasion of participation in military  training by a citizen summoned to the announced training, expressed  in violation of the obligation to appear at the military commissariat  at the place of registration to participate in the training, or in  failure to undergo the medical examination and examination  established by law, or in refusal to participate in the training, or  in other evasion of participation in the training, in the absence of  grounds provided by law for not being subject to summoning to  training, is punishable by a fine in the amount of fifteen to thirty  times the fine, or arrest for up to two months, or imprisonment for a  term of one to three years.

This act, committed by causing oneself bodily harm or by simulating  illness, or by forging a document or other deception, is punishable  by imprisonment for a term of two to five years. The person who  committed the crime is released from criminal liability if he  voluntarily appeared and took part in the exercises.

As the Deputy Minister noted, in recent years there has been an  increase in the number of people evading conscription for both active  military and alternative service, as well as military training. In  2023, 1,499 criminal proceedings were initiated under two articles of  the Criminal Code, and in 2024 - 1,749 proceedings. Kocharyan  emphasized that the increase in the number of evaders is already  socially dangerous, and it is necessary to lay an appropriate  legislative basis for this phenomenon.

In turn, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Arman  Sargsyan noted the importance of the presented document, especially  in the context of staffing the country's armed forces. The Deputy  Minister noted that according to the current situation, there are 462  cases of evasion of participation in military training, and this is  despite the fact that the military training period has been reduced  from three months to 25 days with the preservation of wages. Taking  into account the current situation, the RA Ministry of Defense  considers the draft law to be timely.