For death of the April War hero Capitan Andranik Mkrtchyan who has died in N military unit of Meghri region, a criminal case has been filed on August 21, 2017, according to Article 110 of the Criminal Code (Causing Suicide) of Armenia. The body responsible for the proceedings has not considered any other versions than suicide.

The investigative body tried to hide the evidence from the victim’s successor, Captain Armen Mkrtchyan. On the latter’s request, a second forensic examination was conducted, and it turned out that allegedly there was a draft letter next to the captain’s body. Some letters and separate words were drafted on a piece of paper, which may attest that there was no “posthumous” note and that the evidence was forged. The note found might well have been an exercise to forge the Capitan’s handwriting.

Andranik Mkrtchyan’s father, Armen Mkrtchyan, is convinced that not only the note was forged, but also the place where his son has died. The body, to remind, has been found in the Captain’s office, with gunshot wound in the jaw. In the hands of Andranik there has been a rifle on which no fingerprints were found. About a year after the death of his son, the father conducted his own investigation. Together with experts, as well as the investigators, he went to the Meghri military unit, studied Andranik’s office, and made sure his son was killed somewhere else and the body was brought to the office later.

Armen Mkrtchyan recalls: “The drawer was open, next to it there was a cabinet. Never a man committing suicide does fall that way. I tried to fall in that way and did not succeed. How did he fall and the weapon remained in his hand? The people who came with me were stunned that an incident could have happened that way. I hit the desk with my hand, and asked the investigator, and I said, did you hear the voice? He said, yes. How could he shoot himself and nobody hear it? If that kind of a weapon is fired, the entire building would rumble, and no human being heard it? The pictures show that blood was everywhere: on the ceiling, on the floor, on the desk. What was that much blood doing on all these places if he has fallen on the floor? It would be impossible. He could not have that much blood. Apparently, they had mixed water with blood. My baby’s clothes were wet, so, that’s why they were wet. They killed my kid and brought his body to the office.”

To remind: Andranik’s uncle, who was present at the autopsy, noticed that captain’s clothes were completely wet. Armen Mkrtchyan tells that no one was present to that strange locality examination from military unit’s commanders. “The commander, the commander of the corpse fled from the unit, did not come with us.”

Criminologist, military expert Ruben Martirosyan, having studied the forensic expertise in the case, came to the same conclusions as Captain’s father: Andranik was killed somewhere outside and then his body was brought to the office. During his interview with Forrights.am, he presented his arguments.

First, he reminded that, according to the forensic conclusion, there were 10 bodily injuries on the body of the Captain, including scratches on his face, which were caused by a blunt object. In the morning of the day of his death, the Captain has met with his girlfriend, who did not notice any scratches on his face.

Second, according to the case materials, the Captain was in his dormitory room before suicide where he had eaten an omelet with a friend. It was proven that it took place about half an hour before the death, but a forensic expert did not find food in Mkrtchyan’s stomach. How could it happen if the vegetal food in the stomach is digested in 4-5 hours? Ruben Martirosyan answers to this question:

“If one gets a strong blow on his head, gets brain concussion, becomes dizzy and vomits, thus the stomach empties. We asked this same question also to the expert Shavarsh Gevorgyan and he also said that there could have been a blow to the head. The traces of the blow were shrouded. The expert could have detected the trace of the mechanical damage, but did not wish to do so.”

The Prosecutor General’s Office refused to provide expert Shavarsh Gevorgyan’s interrogation report to the victim, which is a gross violation of the law.

Some photos of the victim have also been concealed from the victim’s family, which also is violation of the law. “In one of the photographs we have seen the left hand and the elbow of the deceased were completely covered with mud. Where could the mud be in the office?” Ruben Martirosyan concludes that the Captain was killed outdoors and later brought to the office.

“Traces of vomit, bone, mud, mechanical injuries, cracks can be found on the clothes, which is probably not desirable, as the real scene of the incident will be revealed,” the expert assures.

Having examined some of the photos, he clearly noticed that there were point injuries on Andranik’s face and hand, which could have been caused by special kind of bullets. Such bullets were found in Andranik’s office, but they were not subjected to investigation. The bullet discovered at the scene, by which Andranik allegedly was shot in his jaw, was not that kind of a bullet.

An expert examination of Andranik Mkrtchyan’s clothing, as well as the gunshot bullet, can reveal important facts, but the prosecution did not satisfy the motion of assigning appropriate forensic examinations.

Syuzan Simonyan

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