Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

P.M., an 18-year-old resident of Lori region Darpas village, who was conscripted with “reactive arthritis” initial diagnosis, was recognized unfit for military service and got an early military discharge.   

Before the conscripted boy with health problems appeared in the hospital of Martakert, his mother S.M. applied to HCA Vanadzor to restore his son’s violated right and justice. P.M.’s mother finds that her son was conscripted and recognized fit for military service with limitations without a detailed examination of his health state, while during the call-up the boy already had health problems.  In the letter addressed to the Organization, it is mentioned that P.M. had continual complaints of waist and scapular pains, which also spread to lower limbs and he had to use a wheelchair at home and a walking stick outdoors. 

Despite all this, on July 31, 2019, P.M. was conscripted to the army. He served in one of the military units of Martakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. It is noteworthy that on August 1, i.e. on the next day of the conscription, he was transferred to the medical post and 4 days later he was transferred to Martakert hospital. There he underwent a number of examinations and as a result, on September 12, P.M. was diagnosed with Familial Mediterranean fever of breast type with typical seizures, which, as it turned out, had begun a year before. 

After the above-mentioned diagnosis, Central Military Medical Committee sessions were conducted, which, however, did not make a decision on P.M.’s fitness for military service and did not provide him with Colchicin drug, which was prescribed for regular use.  

HCA Vanadzor sent a letter to the RA Defense Ministry asking to review the legality of military service fitness of P.M., conscripted with health problems, and to provide him with the necessary medication.  

As a result, the Ministry of Defense examines the incident to find out how legal the process of conscripting the conscript with health problems was. 

In response, the Ministry informed, by a letter, that according to the examination, P.M. was hospitalized to Yerevan Garrison Hospital with “lymphostasis of left lower limb” diagnosis, after which, as a result of a number of other examinations, he was diagnosed with “Familial Mediterranean fever of joint type with mutation genotype,  splenomegaly, local spobdylitis, spondylarthritis”.   

As a result of the expertise, MoD Central Military Medical Commission gave a conclusion on recognizing private P.M. as unfit for military service. It is also mentioned in the conclusion that the disease has no connection with the military service.  

HCA Vanadzor records that improper medical examination was conducted by medical commissions. As a result of comprehensive quality medical examination conducted before the call-up, it will be possible to avoid the conscription of many persons with health problems and further deterioration of health state in the army.