Epress.am News from Armenia
On Sept. 15, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan responded to the open letter addressed to him by Hasmik Hovhannisyan, mother of Artak Nazaryan, who died on July 27 while serving in Armenia’s armed forces.
The letter, in its entirety, reads:
“Dear Mrs. Hovhannisyan,
“In the open letter to RA Defense MInister Seyran Ohanyan you placed into doubt the official cause of your son Artak Nazaryan’s death on July 27 in No. 21127 military base, pointing to the flawed process of the criminal case on the matter of causing the fact of his suicide.
“Deeply sharing the sorrow of your son’s loss, I state that charges under Article 110 Section 1 of the RA Criminal Code of the criminal case based on Article 375 Section 2 of the RA Penal Code have been filed against No. 21127 military base Unit 1 AHTA Deputy, Captain Hakob Manukyan.
“During the preliminary investigation of the criminal case, accusations of the crime under Article 358 Section 3 Point 3 of the RA Criminal Code have been made toward rank and file Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, Adibek Hovhannisyan and Harutik Kirakosyan of the same military base and arrest has been chosen as a pretrial measure.
“Mrs. Hovhannisyan, the preliminary investigation into the criminal case was assigned on Sept. 4, 2010, by an especially important investigation department of the RA Defense Ministry Investigation Service. The preliminary investigation continues and I assure you that it has been under my direct supervision from the beginning. It has been instructed to resolve what happened in complete detail, to subject those guilty to due punishment and to exclude such phenomena [i.e. to make sure such incidents don’t happen again].
“Regarding all those issues which are concerning you, I am prepared to meet with you privately. The head of the RA Defense Ministry Investigation Service, in my presence, will respond to questions related to the preliminary investigation.
“RA Minister of Defense, Seyran Ohanyan.”
This letter originally published by Lragir.am (in Armenian).