Human rights activists lambaste Armenia's negligence in investigating suicide soldiers cases Indifference, disrespect, blunder

The long-term experience of participation of the "Reporters for Human Rights" NGO in the protection of human rights and, in particular, in the investigation of criminal cases against servicemen killed in the Armenian Armed Forces has shown that criminal cases classified as "suicide" mostly remain unsolved.

Caliber.Az reports with reference to Armenian media that the statement came from the president of the NGO, human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan during a discussion at the Media Centre on the deaths of Armenian soldiers in peaceful conditions.

"Your son committed suicide, the family is told, the burden of suicide falls on the family. The Investigative Committee actively cooperates with the command in these cases and together decide the outcome of the case immediately after the death. The Investigative Committee does not feel obliged to solve such criminal cases," Alexanyan added.

According to her, despite other circumstances surfacing in the case, the version put forward by the Investigative Committee remains unchanged.

Monika Margaryan, the lawyer of the "Reporters for Human Rights" NGO, is working on three criminal cases related to the deaths of three servicemen, in which the pre-trial investigation body either artificially delays the investigation or does not accept new circumstances that have come to light during the investigation.

The first is the criminal case of the death of 18-year-old serviceman Radik Tatosyan. Armenian media wrote about this case several times. More than two years have passed since the death of this serviceman in the conditions of complete indifference in the army, but there are no suspects or accused in the criminal case. The official version of death is acute myocarditis, a dubious diagnosis of COVID-19. Moreover, they recently gave the criminal case to the parents and said they were going to close it. The parents studied the case file and found that Radik's body had bruises and Tatosyan died on January 12, 2021, two months after the end of the war.

"In this case, the parents are conducting an investigation on their own initiative, and I would like to emphasize the disrespectful attitude of the Investigative Committee not only to the memory of the soldiers but also to their families. They send them from one place to another. For example, Radik's parents were sent to the medical examiner and told to go and take photos from there," said Zhanna Aleksanyan.

At the same time, lawyer Monika Margaryan emphasized the violation of reasonable terms of the preliminary investigation, pointing out that Tatosyan died in January 2021, but the forensic medical examination on the death was received in December 2022.

"This is explained by the fact that expert centers are working hard and priority is given to criminal cases with detained defendants. Failure to ensure promptness in obtaining evidence results in the fact that we do not have an effective investigation," the lawyer added.

The urgency of obtaining evidence was not ensured also in the case of the death of Karen Danielyan, an enlisted serviceman of the RA National Security Service Border Troops. Karen died on the night of December 13-14, 2022, but no autopsy report has been provided yet. By the way, Armenian media also wrote in detail about this death case. It is noteworthy that the case of Karen's death was not officially announced in the NSS and they started talking about it only after journalists interviewed them. In connection with the death of Karen Danielyan, a criminal case has been opened on incitement to suicide. Karen's wound was in the head area and his body was handed over to his parents with his head covered. Karen's father and mother exclude the official version.

"There are no answers to the expertise, and the preliminary investigation body also does not know the circumstances of Karen Danielyan's death, but they hastily put forward the hypothesis that he committed suicide," Monika Margaryan said.

Another criminal case presented by the lawyer was initiated over the death of 19-year-old serviceman Hayk Petrosyan. On February 19, 2023, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported the death of serviceman Hayk. According to preliminary data, he was killed by a shot from his personal weapon. In the case of Hayk Petrosyan's death, his fellow servicemen were arrested: the assistant commander of the post, a private, and a contract serviceman in charge of the combat post. The Investigative Committee reported that they were detained on the basis of direct suspicion of driving a serviceman to suicide, use of violence against a subordinate, or threat of violence, insulting a serviceman.

Monika Margaryan said that the results of the expert examination on the fact of Hayk Petrosyan's death are correct, but the injured party has new questions.

"These families are defenseless in relations with the Investigative Committee. Well, imagine the control of the Prosecutor General's Office, the so-called reformed Prosecutor General's Office. Zero control, did you see how Anna Vardapetyan talked about the military case?" said Zhanna Alexanyan.

Hayk Petrosyan's sister was also present at the press conference. Irina said she was the last one in the family to talk to Hayk. "His voice was sad, but not so sad that he committed suicide. From our conversation, I realized that Hayk had something to tell me because he said: 'I'll call you later and tell you what happened.' Why would a person who decided to commit suicide promise to call and tell his sister something," Irina said.

"It is noteworthy that Hayk Petrosyan was killed by a shot in the forehead. Can you imagine a suicide shot in the forehead from a machine gun? These are new fantasies of the Investigative Committee, probably dictated by Karamyan (head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia - ed.). I think this is a murder," Zhanna Aleksanyan emphasized.

A human rights activist with years of experience in investigating deaths in the Armenian Armed Forces says there is a high corruption risk of presenting killings in the army as suicides. "There are many cases when innocent servicemen are brought as defendants," the publication says.