Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

Today, on October 24, on shamshyan.com website, information was published that a compulsory military serviceman had left RA Ministry of Defense military unit located in Syunik region Kapan city and there had been no news from him for 5 days. It was also mentioned that the alarm had been received from the serviceman’s relative.

Because it was stated in the material that the serviceman was registered in Vanadzor, HCA Vanadzor contacted Vanadzor military commissariat and informed that there had been such a publication made on shamshyan.com and asked to give a phone number to find out the details of the incident. 

With the phone number provided we managed to get in touch with Mrs. Anahit, Karen S. serviceman’s mother, and his sister, who informed  that currently he was in the military unit of his service. According to the information provided by them, their son was conscripted on July 7, 2019, with health problems for which he had previously received two deferrals. Nevertheless, without any treatment (his mother stated that her son’s illness was untreatable), Karen S. was conscripted to the armed forces.  His mother stated that at the very beginning of the service he also had problems with the command staff because of his health problems (his mother was informed about this by the military police officers) because the latter did not believe that he had health problems, accused him of “pretending, simulating”, despite the fact that he was regularly transferred to hospital and also underwent an operation in connection with another health problem. On October 19, on Friday, the serviceman was transferred from the military unit to Yerevan Central Clinical Military Hospital. According to the serviceman’s sister, her brother was not provided with proper medical aid. Discontent with such an attitude, the serviceman did not wait for the examination and left the hospital for one of his relatives’ house in Yerevan. On the same day, however, the serviceman’s relatives transferred him to hospital, where the RA Ministry of Defense relevant officers transferred him to Vardenis military hospital and then to the military unit. And as his mother informs, the serviceman was sent to the military unit without any examination as a penalty. Karen S. is currently in the military unit. His health problems continue, in particular, he has digestion problems (according to his mother he vomits what he eats), as well as frequent nose and mouth bleeding, of which the serviceman always complained. 

Addition։Just after the publication of the material, G. Shamshyan contacted HCA Vanadzor and informed that Karen S. and the serviceman presented in the publication on shamshyan.com are different persons. As G.Shamshyan stated, the material presented on shamshyan.com corresponds to reality and the search for the serviceman continues.