National Assembly Grants Amnesty to Citizens Avoiding Draft Upon Turning 27

The National Assembly unanimously approved the draft amendments to the law on "Citizens who have not completed military service in violation of established procedures" during the second and final reading. These amendments exempt those who have avoided military service and turned 27 from criminal prosecution upon payment of a corresponding fine.

The changes in the law will allow citizens who turned 27 between 2018 and March 1, 2019, to return to Armenia, pay the required amount, and be freed from criminal liability. The current law only applies to those who turned 27 before 2018.

“There are many citizens waiting for the adoption of this bill, which is why we initiated its discussion. It will pertain to about 2,000 individuals,” said Gevorg Gorgisyan, one of the authors of the bill and a member of the ‘Enlightened Armenia’ party during the presentation of the draft yesterday.

It is noteworthy that at the end of February, during discussions in the permanent commission on defense and security issues, the chairman of the commission, Andranik Kocharyan, reported that currently, 3,225 conscripts aged 27 to 35 are wanted.