“Should I serve in Japanese army as well?”
Twenty-eight-year-old Rafael Mikaelyan came to Armenian on February 17 to participate in the funeral of his grandfather. Mikaelyan's problems began just the moment he landed in the country. At the airport, a border guard officer ‘scrutinized' his passport for five minutes.
"Then I was asked to stand aside. In a couple of minutes I was arrested by the Armenian Police," tells Rafael.
He was taken to the Mashtots department of the police. The following day Rafael Mikaelyan, a citizen of the Russian Federation, was accused of evading mandatory military service and was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of 1 800 000 drams.
In reply to Rafael's inquiry, a police official explained that in 2008, Armenia adopted a law on dual citizenship, and the young man automatically became a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.
"I was born in Yerevan in 1988 but I have lived outside the country. I have visited Armenian only three times," says Rafael who was released from the police department after paying a bail of 300 000 drams and giving a written cognizance not to leave the country.
However, Rafael did not get his passport back.
"I cannot understand one thing. If my mother is a citizen of Armenia, my father-a citizen of Japan and - that of Russia, does it mean that I must serve in all the three countries?" he said.
Mikaelyan has emailed to all relevant agencies, including the president and the Russian Embassy in Armenia.
"They did receive me a week later when the incident sparked a real scandal," he said.
At the Embassy, Rafael was told that everything was in line with the law. Then they returned his passport and also promised to return the 300 000-dram bail. Today it became known that the 28-year-old man, who already has three children, does not have a right to serve in the Russian army.
"I am exempted from military duty because of health problems," said Rafael.
The police Mashtots department demanded that Rafael present documents certifying his health problems.
"Why should I produce documents about my health state when I am a guest in this country?" he said.
