HIV-positive men being drafted in Russia

HIV-positive men receive draft cards in Russia despite the fact that a governmental website said earlier they would be exempt from mobilisation, reports Pavel Chikov of Agora, a human rights organisation.

Chikov says several men diagnosed with HIV have contacted his organisation. Some of them are not declared ineligible for military service in the conscription database.

“Here’s a photo of the draft card of an HIV-positive man from Yekaterinburg. He was sent home after providing a proof to the draft office, but another man was sent into the military despite providing a proof of his diagnosis,” Chikov says.

A governmental website reported earlier that HIV-positive people were exempt from mobilisation.