Armenia sending sick servicemen to front

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Stories about injustice in Armenian army know no end. This time an Armenian commander sent to a battle position a serviceman, who couldn't even stand on his feet.

Sevak Simonian, a contract serviceman of a military unit in the Armenian city of Vayk, did not want to go to front due to his health problems, according to Epress.am. However, he was forced to obey the decision of his commander.

The soldier’s toes were damaged while serving on the front in September. After returning from the position, he took leave, Simonian's wife Hayarpi Voskanyan says. In October, his leg was still not all right, therefore he went to Sisian Military Hospital. There he was given a certificate stating that he should stay in bed and pass a course of treatment.

Simonyan presented the document to his military unit, and stated that he won’t be able to serve in a fighting position. Soon after that, he was called by Commander Mher Stepanyan, who demanded the serviceman to come to the position.

“If you do not go to the front, we will fire you” the commander threatened,” the wife says. Simonian said he submitted a paper about the health problems that prescribe taking a break. "I don’t care, don’t you want everything to be alright?” was the answer. This way Simonian was forcibly sent to the fighting position for two weeks from October 27 to November 10.

Due to arguing with his commander, the salary of Simonyan for November made up only $168. When the serviceman turned to the financier of his military unit and other military commanders, the only answer they gave was “it's not our business,” Simonyan’s wife says.

Such stories of iniquity and unfairness in the Armenian army are of wide variety; mysterious murders of soldiers, suicides of those who can’t stand the humiliation in army anymore.

Recently, father of Armenian serviceman, who died as a result of ill-treatment, won a lawsuit against Armenia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

He court found violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to life) and ordered to pay the Government of Armenia to Hrachya Muradyan 50,000 EUR of compensation.