FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
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Monday 18 September 2006
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: UNCERTAINTY FACES BAPTIST CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
It is unclear whether the authorities will take further action against a
young Baptist conscript who refuses to swear the military oath and bear
arms on grounds of conscience, Forum 18 News Service has found. Gagik
Mirzoyan was freed from prison at the end of a jail sentence, held by the
Military Police and, after eight days, transferred to a military unit.
"They are still pressuring him to swear the military oath and take up
weapons," Baptist pastor Garnik Abreyan told Forum 18. "He still has three
months to serve of his military service and we just don’t know what they
will do with him." Albert Voskanyan, of the Centre for Civilian
Initiatives – who has regularly visited both Gaglik Mirzoyan and jailed
Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objector Areg Hovhanesyan – told Forum 18
that "the danger is real that Mirzoyan could be imprisoned again." Deputy
Foreign Minister Masis Mailyan told Forum 18 that he does not know what
the military will now do.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: UNCERTAINTY FACES BAPTIST CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;
Baptists in the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South
Caucasus are still unsure whether the authorities will take further action
against a young Baptist conscript who refuses to swear the military oath
and bear arms. Freed from prison in Shusha on 5 September, at the end of
his sentence for refusing to perform military duties, 20-year-old Gagik
Mirzoyan was held by the Military Police and, after eight days,
transferred to a military unit. "No-one is doing anything bad to him in
the unit, but they are still pressuring him to swear the military oath and
take up weapons," Baptist pastor Garnik Abreyan told Forum 18 News Service
on 17 September from Stepanakert, the disputed enclave’s capital. "He
still has three months to serve of his military service and we just don’t
know what they will do with him."
Mirzoyan, who is from Karabakh’s Mardakert district, is a member of a
local congregation of the Council of Churches Baptists, who refuse on
principle to register congregations with the state authorities in
post-Soviet countries. He was called up in December 2004 and immediately
refused to swear the military oath and carry weapons. After initially
allowing him to serve without weapons and without swearing the military
oath, the military authorities then changed their minds.
At the district court of Hadrut in south-eastern Karabakh in July 2005,
Mirzoyan was found guilty under Article 364 part 1 of the Criminal Code,
which punishes "refusal to perform one’s military duties" with detention
of up to 3 months, service in a punishment battalion of up to 2 years or
imprisonment of up to 2 years. Mirzoyan was sentenced to two years’
imprisonment, but this was suspended and he was then sent back to his
military unit. However, in September 2005 Hadrut district court converted
this into a one-year term of imprisonment at the urging of military
leaders. He was beaten several times while in the hands of the army and
while in prison (see F18News 22 March 2006
< e_id=748>).
Nagorno-Karabakh has adopted Armenia’s Criminal Code, which also punishes
conscientious objection – see eg. F18News 23 February 2006
< e_id=733>.
Despite having served his full jail sentence for refusing to perform
military duties, Gagik Mirzoyan’s two-year term of compulsory military
service is not due to be completed until December of this year.
An official at the Defence Ministry, who declined to give his name, told
Forum 18 from Stepanakert on 18 September that he was not familiar with
Mirzoyan’s case and was not prepared to discuss it. He referred all
enquiries to the Foreign Ministry, although it has no jurisdiction over
what happens in the Karabakh armed forces.
Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mailyan told Forum 18 on 18 September that
he has been following Mirzoyan’s case and described his release from
prison as "good news" – even though the release was at the end of the
young Baptist’s full jail sentence. Mailyan said that after having spoken
to the Defence Ministry about Mirzoyan’s case he thought there was "no
urge to punish him again". But he does not know what the military will now
do, as Mirzoyan still refuses to swear the military oath.
Mailyan insisted that Karabakh needs to be able to defend itself because
of the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan, but said he believes young men
who cannot serve in the armed forces on grounds of conscience should be
offered alternative, non-military service. "We strive to meet European
standards, and I’m personally in favour of introducing an alternative
service," he told Forum 18. However, he noted that no concrete draft law
on alternative service has yet reached the local parliament.
Pastor Abreyan told Forum 18 that he and fellow Baptists had been able to
meet Mirzoyan on 16 September, at his unit in Nagorno-Karabakh’s
south-eastern Martuni district. "Gagik is being well treated at the
moment, can move freely around the base and has not been made to wear a
uniform," Abreyan reported.
Also imprisoned in Shusha Prison, just south of Stepanakert, for refusing
military service on grounds of religious conscience is a Jehovah’s Witness
from Stepanakert, Areg Hovhanesyan. He was sentenced in February 2005 to
four years’ imprisonment for refusing military service on grounds of
religious conscience (see F18News 22 February 2005
< e_id=517>).
Concerned over both Mirzoyan and Hovhanesyan is Albert Voskanyan, head of
the Centre for Civilian Initiatives, a local human rights group, who has
regularly visited both in Shusha Prison. "The danger is real that Mirzoyan
could be imprisoned again," Voskanyan told Forum 18 on 15 September.
Voskanyan had written on 21 August to the president of the unrecognised
republic, Arkady Gukasyan, explaining that Mirzoyan had rejected the
military oath because of his belief as a Baptist that the Bible forbids
the swearing of oaths and had expressed his willingness to serve in the
armed forces without swearing the oath. "The following, complex situation
has emerged, almost an impasse," Voskanyan told Gukasyan. "The sentenced
man, having served the punishment given to him, will again be called up to
military service, will again refuse to swear the oath although he is ready
to serve the remainder of the term he is due to serve, and will again be
sentenced, this time as a recidivist." Voskanyan called on Gukasyan to
have Mirzoyan treated "leniently".
Pastor Abreyan told Forum 18 that Mirzoyan is the only Baptist in
Nagorno-Karabakh facing such problems. He also reported that Baptist
congregations are not obstructed in meeting for worship. "No-one is
restricting us – we can hold meetings, pray and worship." (END)
A printer-friendly map of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is
available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=azerba& gt;
within the map titled ‘Azerbaijan’.
(END)
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