NGO Office of Civil Freedoms offers free legal assistance to conscripts and servicemen.
A medical expert, who works with the NGO, offers consultations on the issues of fitness for military service. Hotline numbers: +992 93 333 18 03; +992 93 333 17 03.
Besides, an android supplement for mobile devices has been developed for conscripts and servicemen. The supplement “Davatshavanda” (Conscript) reportedly consists of 18 separate books and 24 legal acts concerning rights of conscripts and servicemen.
Meanwhile, according to data from the NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan, 59 servicemen have become victims of hazing incidents in the Tajik army over the past two years; 11 of them died.
Human rights organizations in Tajikistan have criticized the government for not doing enough to stop hazing in the military.
In a recent change, Tajikistan’s government now allows soldiers to telephone the military prosecutor's office to report alleged hazing.
Recall, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on September 13 signed a decree on drafting young Tajiks into the country’s armed forces from October through November 2017.
The draft affects able-bodied male citizens in the age bracket of 18 years old to 27 years old, who are not members of the armed forces reserve.
The same decree provides for the retirement from active duty of soldiers and sergeants whose service under conscription is over.
According to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), every year, some 15,000-16,000 young Tajik men are drafted into the country’s armed forces. The two-month-long effort seeking to enlist young men aged 18-27 for the two-year compulsory military service takes place twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.
Some sources say more than 600,000 young men in Tajikistan are eligible for military service, but some 150,000 of them have received draft deferments or are exempted from the military service and some 100,000 other conscript-age young Tajiks are outside the country in search of a living.
Young Tajiks can avoid or postpone military service if they are ill, studying at university, an only son, or if they have two children.
Tajikistan’s armed forces consist of Ground Forces, Mobile Forces (paratroopers of the armed forces of Tajikistan), Air Force and Air Defense Force.
