Volgograd court refuses to release conscript from service for health reasons

The Tsentralny District Court of Volgograd has refused to satisfy the lawsuit lodged by Danila Bozhevolov, a conscript, against the drafting commission and the military commissariat (registration and enlistment office), which had found him as limited fit for military service, despite his dermatological disease.

Bozhevolov said that he had been suffering from a serious skin disease since the age of 14. Each time doctors called his disease incurable and warned Danila about the consequences. "I can't stay under the sun, because serious problems with the thyroid gland and skin cancer may develop," he has explained.

According to his story, apart from health hazards, the consequence of his disease was bullying from his peers. "It can resume if I end up in the army," Danila has noted.

A member of the drafting commission has stated that the conscript got registered just before the draft and failed to provide additional documents about his disease. "He should have earlier registered with a doctor," she has added.

Sergey Ivaschenko, a lawyer, has pointed out the regularity of trials related to conscripts challenging military commissariats' and drafting commissions' decisions on their health issues and fitness for military service. "80 percent of cases contested by conscripts are on health issues," he has added.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that Vladislav Kushnir, a conscript from Volzhsky, had challenged in court the decisions of the military commissariats, which declared him fit for military service, despite his grave diseases.