Young Man with Illness Drafted to the Military Hospital

Robert Hovhannisyan from Gyumri, aged 19, is drafted to the army on the last day of the winter military recruitment, despite his heart-related issues. Instead of the military unit, he will be drafted directly to the military hospital, reports his mother Ruzanna Hovhannisyan to Epress.am.

The young man received a deferral for 5 months due to his diagnosis of “heart rhythm disorder.” According to the mother, at night Robert’s heart beat slows down, he has issues with blood pressure, “quickly gets tired when walking; gets out of breath if he carries weight of a few kilos.”

The Public Council under the Ministry of Defense had earlier made a referral for Robert Sargsyan to undergo control examination, however the Chief Military Enlistment office made a decision on December 24 that Robert will in any case be drafted.

“I told them he has irregular heart beats, his blood pressure is irregular. The General told me, are you a nurse, how do you know? He also said that the decision of the Public Council meant nothing to him, that my boy would be recruited in any case,” says Robert’s mother.

Today Robert Hovhannisyan and another 12 new recruits with health issues are taken to the Central Recruitment Office.

Ruzanna Hovhannisyan, waiting with uncertainty at the Central Recruitment Office says: “Today too, my son told them that he is unable to run, he runs out of breath, but they told him that it’s ok, we’ll draft you and take you to the hospital to get an examination. They wished “happy service” to another boy with a heart disorder.”

At the moment of writing the article, Robert was at an investigator’s office. He is accused for an attempt of avoiding military service. Robert rejects to accept recruitment notifications as his demand for a repeat examination is ignored.

“My son has not avoided service, we have constantly been in touch with the local Military Enlistment office,” says Rober’s mother.