Armenian soldier commits suicide over bullying

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has revealed a number of important circumstances in the death of serviceman Zhora Karapetyan.

The press service of the Armenian Investigative Committee told the media that on August 10, 2023, a message was received from an X military unit of the Armenian Defense Ministry that on the same day, at about 1850 hours, a conscript soldier, Zhora Karapetyan, while on combat duty, committed suicide, using a machine gun attached to another soldier, Caliber.Az reports.

“The serviceman was taken to the Ararat Medical Center, and from there to the military hospital in Yerevan.

“Criminal proceedings were initiated into the case under paragraph 3 of part 2 of Article 523 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

“Early in the morning of August 11, a message was received from the hospital that Zhora Karapetyan, who received a gunshot wound in the head, had died.

“The scene of the incident was examined, a forensic medical examination was appointed, a number of people were interrogated.

“As a result of the urgent actions taken, on August 11, two conscripts, colleagues of Karapetyan, were detained on the basis of a reasonable suspicion that a group of persons had driven the latter to suicide by negligence when he was on combat duty.

“According to preliminary data obtained at the current stage of the investigation, the serviceman committed suicide as a result of behavior typical of hazing. The preliminary investigation is ongoing,” the statement said.