He came to serve in the Lithuanian army on a voluntary basis, but soon, he changed his mind: I refuse to take the oath of soldier.

He was not detained over warnings from the army leadership that by refusing to carry out the commanders’ orders, he could not only be prosecuted, but even sentenced.

“I will not change my decision”, Arnas R. took a categorical position.

And it was only after interviews with psychologists, lawyers and military personnel from the battalion to which conscription was sent that Arnas R. declared that he had made such a decision just because … he no longer wanted to serve in the army. and his decision to volunteer for 9 months of service was allegedly unwise.

“After starting military service in the first week, I became familiar with the army order, I knew what trials await me,” a Klaipeda resident later said during an interrogation at the Military Police. – I did not like the life of the army, the routine, the lack of freedom, I couldn’t do what I wanted in the army. I realized that I had made a mistake in voluntarily choosing the service. And in the first two weeks of my service, while I was in quarantine, I finally made the decision to stop serving in the military. “

However, Arn R. could not avoid service in the army; Although he had been prosecuted for noncompliance with the commander’s orders, he still had to perform compulsory military service.

The court, which was examining the criminal case against Klaipėda residents at the time, decided that a soldier who disobeyed the army leadership would have to serve a 20-day prison term at the Šiauliai Detention Center. Arnas R. acceded to the sentence proposed by the prosecutor who supervised the pre-trial investigation and was removed from office to serve an arrest warrant.

According to the data of the case, it was established that Arnas R., as a soldier in permanent compulsory military service, was still on October 16 of last year. he refused to comply with the order of the commander, by which he was instructed to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the soldiers of the permanent mandatory initial military service and to take the oath of office of the Lithuanian soldier.

During the pre-trial investigation, a professional military service soldier interviewed as a witness, who served in the same battalion as Arnas R., said that he had invited the soldier to speak, and not only presented him with the commander’s order, but also explained the consequences of non-compliance.

“I explained to the soldier that failure to comply with the order is subject to criminal responsibility,” the witness said. “At that time, the ordinary acting junior Arn R. said he understood everything, but did not give any specific explanation, said he did not want to swear in and continue the service.”

According to the soldier, Arnas R. did not participate in the swearing-in ceremony, he remained in his company. “Arnas R. has been in service since September 28, follows the soldier’s routine and does not cause any problems,” he said.

Another soldier, who spoke with Arnas R before the ceremony, testified that the soldier was unwilling to swear to serve Lithuania faithfully.

“When I asked him why he did not want to take the oath, he replied that he no longer wanted to be in the battalion, that he did not want to serve and that he wanted to finish his military service,” he said. . – I informed the company commander about the decision of the ordinary acting junior, so soon the battalion lawyer, the psychologist spoke with him, they tried to find out the reasons, and they also waited for the soldier to change his mind and take the oath. But he did not change his position, so on the day of the oath I took Arn R. to the company commander, who explained to him that the soldier must obey all the commander’s orders and what are the consequences of non-compliance, that criminal responsibility . threatened, he also gave it a reading. But Arnas R. did not change his mind, he said he understood everything, but did not want to continue the service, so he would not swear. He did not explain why he was doing so, but stated that he refused to attend the swearing-in ceremony and did not attend. “

At that time, Arnas R. admitted during the survey that he had offered to serve in the Lithuanian Armed Forces in August.

“I had just returned from abroad, had no job and knew that I could still be called up for compulsory military service at any time, so I decided to offer my service on my own initiative,” said one resident. from Klaipeda. – I was accepted and called to serve. But as soon as I started serving, I realized that I had made a big mistake: I wanted to leave as soon as possible and go home. “

The soldier did not hide that before signing the application for service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, he was aware of the documents that indicated that there was a mandatory condition to perform the service for 9 months.

“Realizing that there was no legal way to end the service, I decided not to take the oath; I thought I would be removed from the service in this way,” he admitted. – Approximately three days before the oath, I informed the sergeant of my decision, who explained that, despite my decision, I would still have to serve 9 months, as well as the risk of non-compliance. After that, many people spoke to me, they all explained to me that I would still have to continue the service, that I would be criminally responsible for refusing to follow orders. But even so I decided not to obey, I thought I would be removed from my position for a conviction. “

The soldier admitted that just before the swearing-in ceremony, he was persuaded not only by friends in the service, but also by management:

The court that examined the criminal case brought against Arn R. concluded that the data collected during the pre-trial investigation had been confirmed: the soldier himself had applied for compulsory military service and had signed documents establishing the procedure and conditions for recruitment permanent mandatory. military service; the soldier promised to comply with these conditions.

After analyzing and evaluating all the data in the case, the court recognizes that the defendant Arnas R., being a soldier in permanent compulsory military service, refused to comply with the order of the commander – to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the Permanent compulsory military service and taking the oath Rasa Stonkuvienė noted that Arno R.’s guilt was also proven by his own testimony, whereby he pleaded guilty to having committed a crime.

According to the court, Arnas R. committed an intentional crime, classified as a misdemeanor, is still a soldier of permanent compulsory military service, previously illegal and not administratively sanctioned.

The court, which found no mitigating or aggravating circumstances for the military, stated that “the objectives of the sanction will be achieved by imposing on the accused Arn RR the type of sanction specified in the prosecutor’s sanction article and proposed in the declaration of termination of the procedures. “

Delphi remember that the military announced in 2021 lists of recruits, which include about 38 thousand. 18-23 young people. 3,828 recruits are planned to serve in various units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

The Seimas renewed the nine-month permanent mandatory initial military service in 2015 in the spring. This was done in light of the changing geopolitical situation and threats to national security.

The reestablishment of the conscript service also aims to strengthen and accelerate the filling of military units with soldiers of professional military service, forming a sufficient reserve prepared by the army and ensuring adequate preparation of citizens for the defense of their state.