IDF soldier marooned in Armenia over military service

An IDF soldier, who emigrated from Armenia to Israel as a child, became entangled in bureaucratic red tape in his home country during a family visit, with local authorities saying he is eligible to be drafted into the army there.

Arik Martoyan moved to Israel with his family when he was five years old. He was recently given permission by the army to travel to Armenia six weeks ago to seek out his family roots.

However, after arriving in the country, he was told by authorities that because he has Armenian citizenship, he was required to complete his national service.

Since then, Martoyan has been fighting for his freedom to return to Israel. He says Israeli officials haven’t been doing enough to help him. He has also been in contact with his air force commanders to seek their assistance.

“The claim by the army is that I need to say here and serve for two years,” Martoyan told Channel 2. “I tried to speak with every possible authority, but no one can help me. Everyone is avoiding me.”

Family members who had traveled with him for the vacation have since flown back to Israel, while Martoyan stayed on, living with his grandfather.

“We were in contact with the army and with the Foreign Ministry but for a month and a half there was no progress,” his mother said. “At the moment he is in the village, in my father’s house. We speak to him every day, and send him money, but he is alone there.”

Attorney Eyal Platek, who has taken on Martoyan’s case, claimed that responsibility lies with the IDF to check if any of its soldiers are eligible for military or other mandatory national service in a foreign country before they visit there.

An IDF source said the army didn’t know he was an Armenian citizen and that he would be required to carry out national service in his home country.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was “aware of the case and it is being dealt with by the relevant authorities” in the ministry.

“A month ago the soldier contacted the Israeli ambassador in Armenia, Shmuel Meirom, and gave him the details of the case,” the ministry added. “After receiving the details, the Israeli consul in Georgia, who is responsible for consular matters in Armenia, began acting vis-a-vis the Armenian authorities in order to help.”

The Foreign Ministry said it had approached the Armenian deputy foreign minister, who agreed to help deal with the matter.

“During the entire period, the foreign office was in close contact with the IDF, which is involved in finding a solution to the matter,” the ministry said. “It is important to stress the personal responsibility that every citizen has when they are also a citizen of another country to organize his affairs and status with the authorities of the state that he is visiting. “