After failing to motivate enough Latvian volunteers to joint the military, authorities organised a lottery on Tuesday, the 23rd of January. During this lottery, youngsters from all over Latvia were randomly selected for mandatory military service in National Armed Forces, as confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.
A total of 300 recruits were randomly selected.
These people will be sent notifications to go through a health examination, which they will have to take at the NBS Medical Centre in Riga.
Once health examinations are over, 150 conscripts will be admitted into military service.
Soldiers of Latvian National Armed Forces will be subject to disciplinary, administrative and criminal liability. Attempts to dodge the draft will be punished in accordance to the Criminal Law.
Conscripts who fail to appear for a health examination will receive a warning or a fine of up to EUR 350. Failure to arrive at their place of service conscripts will receive a fine between EUR 50 and EUR 5 000.
According to data from the Ministry of Defence, there are currently 22 539 youngsters aged 18 to 19 in Latvia. 3 581 of them technically meet all the requirements for military service. This year Latvian men born after the 1st of January 2004 are subject to enlistment in National Armed forces.
Latvian citizens whose state of health does not meet the requirements, officials of the institutions of the system of the Ministry of the Interior and the Prison Administration, who have served in the said institutions continuously for not less than two years, as well as citizens who have been punished for a serious or particularly serious crime – regardless of the deletion or removal of the criminal record – are excluded from this list.
Military service can be postponed for a time, but no longer than the age of 26, but only for important reasons, for example, if a scholarship is obtained at a university, a citizen is a member of the national team in a sport, is on parental leave or due to other important family circumstances.
The decision regarding military conscription can be appealed in the Enlistment Control Commission and the Administrative Court. A citizen can also submit an application to request alternative service.
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