The military police accuse Jirayr Gevorgyan, a participant of the 44-day war, of embezzling a vehicle. The information was provided to Forrights.am by volunteer Zhirayr Gevorgyan, who, at the same time, stated that he had returned to Armenia from Moscow to take part in the war.
Jirayr Gevorgyan does not accept the accusations of the law enforcement body, but presents his explanations telling that the the car was not stolen, but was not taken back by anyone.
“On November 6, they sounded the alarm that there was a military operation that we had to participate to and then go home. We took part in battles in Shushi, then I was offered to drive a van. I drove the wounded from Shushi to Stepanakert. I got off and gathered people piece by piece. On November 9, when they signed the agreement [on stopping the military operations], the van stayed with me; I started bringing people from Stepanakert to Muratsan hospital every day. I transported a total of 42 wounded people. During this time, no one provided me with gasoline; I sold my golden neckchain and bought gasoline,” said the volunteer.
Jirayr says that when he finished transporting the wounded from Stepanakert to Yerevan, he decided to return the car to the Artsakh Defense Army.
“I went to the General Staff of Artsakh at the end of November and said that there was such a car and I wanted to give it back. They took my telephone number and said they would call me. They did not call until the New Year. In January, I went to the Armenia’s Ministry of Defense. They said the same thing here and never called. I also told the mayor of Ashtarak about this so that they could take it; he said let the elections end and I will do something. There was no space in my yard, so I took the car to the village and parked it in my aunt’s yard. A month later, the police came to my aunt’s place and made a show. I was taken to the Ashtarak police station, where they held me until the evening, and then they told me to drive the car and take it to the military police,” said Jirayr, emphasizing again that he wanted the relevant bodies to take the car back, but no structure took it.
On May 24, the head of the Echmiadzin Department of the Military Police of the Ministry of Defense made a decision to initiate a criminal case in connection with the incident attributed to Jirayr Gevorgyan. The participant of the war accused of embezzling the car. The criminal case was sent to the military prosecutor of the Shirak garrison.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Jirayr Gevorgyan does not have any status yet, a preliminary investigation is underway.
It is noteworthy that in parallel with the accusations made against Jirayr Gevorgyan by the military police of the Ministry of Defense, the “Zinuzh” [“Armed Forces”] TV program of the Ministry of Defense aired a reportage about Jirayr Gevorgyan.
“The culmination of Jirayr’s history, who voluntarily enlisted and left for Artsakh on the second day of the war with his friends, was on November 6, when he found a van abandoned in the field during the hot battles near Shushi and decided to evacuate the wounded and take them to hospitals,” states the reportage of the “Zinuzhi” program.
Narek Kirakosyan