Captain Andranik Mkrtchyan, a hero of the April War from the region Aparan, was killed on August 20, 2017 in the Meghri military unit. His death was described as a suicide by bringing a criminal case under Article 11 of the Criminal Code “Inciting Suicide”. The foundation is a dubious note found in the Captain’s pocket, which he supposedly wrote before his death and by which he asks not to blame anyone for his death.
Andranik Mkrtchyan’s relatives do not recognize their son’s handwriting, although the designated manuscript examination has confirmed that it was the handwriting of Andranik. Relatives also claim that their son was well-educated, while there were grammatical errors in the note. In the Andranik’s office, the pen, the ink used for the note have not been found. This means that Andranik could not have written the note.
Attorney Hayarpi Sargsyan, who represents the interests of the captain, struggled to make the preliminary investigation body assign another handwriting examination. Finally she succeeded. Today, speaking to Forrights.am, Naira Harutyunyan, spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, confirmed the information. “In the case of the deceased Captain Andranik Mkrtchyan, another handwriting examination and complex judicial-paperwork inspection is assigned,” she said.
For about a year, Andranik Mkrtchyan’s parents were complaining about fabricated version, at least for the reason that the hero of the April war, the intelligence commander, who had been in difficult situations many times, suddenly could have killed himself without any reason.
Andranik’s body was found in one of the company’s offices. There were no fingerprints on the weapon, which, allegedly, was fired. On the day of his death, the captain was at home, in Aparan, with his parents and went to the military unit in a cheerful mood. He spoke on the phone to his mother all the way. And suddenly a couple of hours later, the parents received the news of their son’s death.
According to the forensic medical report, 10 body injuries, scratches and hemorrhages have been detected on the body of the captain, which were caused maximum one day before his death. In his parents’ house in Aparan, no extraordinary incident has occurred. Hence it can be concluded that violence against Andranik happened after his return to the military unit.
The prosecutor’s office, the investigators stubbornly turn their backs on these facts. In one and a half years of the preliminary investigation, the investigators of the Military Prosecutor’s Office did not change anything from their vulnerable qualifications of the first days. That qualification—suicide– was first mentioned by the military commanding officers in their explanation given to the parents of the captain in connection with his death.
The investigators, the military prosecutor’s office did not show any signs that they would change their approach to this case. The ice moved only after Nikol Pashinyan met with the parents of the deceased servicemen, among whom was Andranik Mkrtchyan’s father, Armen Mkrtchyan. In December, additional interrogations were assigned.
Hayarpi Sargsyan also made other motions in this case. Particularly, she presented a report on destruction of evidence by investigators. But, under such conditions and mechanism of referring the reports and complaints, there cannot be effective prosecutorial supervision:
“For example, I send a complaint to the Prosecutor General and report on the crime. He sends it to the military prosecutor, who sends it to the garrison prosecutor, who, in his turn, sends the complaint to the investigative body dealing with the case. This is absolutely absurd, as if there were a complaint against you, and they brought and gave it to you telling to look and see what you would do,” says the lawyer.
Syuzan Simonyan