In a telephone interview of 24 July 1995, the counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Georgia in Washington provided the following information. The penalties for failure to respond to call-up letters for military service and for desertion from military service are specified in articles 262 and 263 of the Georgian criminal code.

The penalty for failure to respond to a call-up letter for military service during peacetime is from three to seven years imprisonment, and during wartime it is from five to ten years imprisonment. The corresponding penalty for officers in both peacetime and wartime is from five to ten years imprisonment.

The penalty for desertion from military service during peacetime is from three to seven years imprisonment, and during wartime it is from five to ten years imprisonment. The corresponding penalty for officers during peacetime is from five to seven years imprisonment, while in wartime it is from seven to ten years imprisonment.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of the Republic of Georgia, Washington. 24 July 1995. Telephone interview with counsellor.