Conscripts in Lithuania were fined 14,000 times for dodging military service last year, and the authorities opened over 450 pre-trial investigations into repeated evasion, with five draftees facing criminal liability.
According to Arūnas Balčiūnas, head of the Military Conscription and Recruitment Service, 14,000 is a “really high” number for dodging military service, but it includes conscripts who “were punished twice or even three times”.
Conscripts cite various reasons for their failure to show up for military service, such as forgetting to check whether they are on the draftee list or missing the deadline for a health check. There are also serious reasons, such as illness and sick leave.
“Over 450 pre-trial investigations were initiated last year. In the case of completed investigations, the fines range from 500 to several thousand euros,” Balčiūnas told LRT RADIO, adding that criminal liability is also applied for repeated evasion.
Around 3,800 young men will be called up for military service this year.
A draft subscription reform that would allow drafting more young men passed the first reading in the Lithuanian parliament at the end of the fall session.
The latest proposal tabled by the government calls for drafting men aged 18 to 21 after school and does not allow deferring service for university students.
The reform will also allow conscripts to choose either six months or nine months of compulsory military service.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
