A month after the death of a conscript soldier of the NSS border guard forces, Karen Danielyan, the parents do not know the circumstances of their son’s death. The incident took place on the night of December 13-14, between 04:20 and 04:40 am. The Ministry of Defense and the National Security Service did not present any reason to the Danielians. Forrights.am was informed by the Investigative Committee on December 16, 2022, that a criminal case was initiated regarding the incident with the circumstance of incitement to suicide. Karen’s injury was in the head area, his body was handed over to her parents with the head closed.
Karen’s father and mother exclude the official version.
“I can’t imagine that he would commit such an act; he was not a depressed person by his nature, he was a cheerful young man surrounded by friends. I am sure that he would not have harmed himself, he was not that person,” said his mother, Armine Danielyan, in a conversation with Forrights.am.
Before the accident, Karen Danielyan was sent to the positions with the “alarm” order. The captain of the position and two other conscripts were with him. According to the parents, they raised their positions because they had information about sabotage initiated by the enemy. According to his father, Vardan Danielyan, there was a conflict between the soldiers in the positions. The investigator relayed him some information about the course of the examination.
“It became clear from the interrogation of the two servicemen that there was a conversation and argument between the four of them before the incident. Then, the two servicemen went to rest. During that time, a non-commissioned officer came to the position, he changed the battery, after which Karen and the senior of the position remained there. Three days after the incident, the senior of the position reported that there was swearing between them, there was a conversation about sleeping, they did not tell what happened after that. According to the senior of the position, 15 minutes before the incident, Karen took a cigarette and was alone at the observation post. Then a shot was heard, the captain of the position said: “Ponch [the nickname] shot himself,” Karen’s father said in a conversation with Forrights.am, noting that the weapons of all four soldiers were sent for examination. So far, the conclusion of any examination is not known.
The parents emphasize that the senior of the position is the one who can tell the truth, but they hardly hope that he will tell it. The father and mother mentioned that the senior of the position is now isolated, they do not have the opportunity to talk to him. According to them, there are no suspects or accused in the case after a month. Karen’s father was recognized as the successor of the victim.
The parents talked to Karen the evening before the incident; they did not notice any trouble, neither at that time nor before. “The last time we spoke was on December 13, at 11:30 pm. He called, talked to his younger sister, they were doing lessons together. I also spoke: he was very happy. We got the news the next morning,” said the mother.
Armine Danielyan mentioned that she has doubts that they use the article of suicide in order to close the case. However, the family will fight for the disclosure. She also talks about the failure of command. She emphasizes that at that moment there was no commander with the soldiers, the direct commander did not even meet with the parents, and it is not known where he was at that moment.
“I want the truth to be revealed. All I want is not to b e deceived, not to cover up this case, the guilty to answer. First of all, the command is responsible for my child. The commander was not with them: the commander himself is responsible, but we have not seen him either. Even if the soldier self-harmed, it means that there was some kind of pressure. And where were they, why they did not see the soldier’s state of mind? I rule out this version. I don’t believe that the examination will go normally: they prefer the option of self-harm to silence me but I will fight,” said the mother.
This is not the first time that conscripts in the armed forces are left without supervision of their commanders, and accidents caused by interpersonal problems are classified as suicides. “There are a lot of cases and they label it as self-harm, leaving the parents under stress,” said the mother.
Karen had served in the army for 5 months. He was 19 years old. The incident happened at Syunik positions.
Neither the National Security Service nor the Ministry of Defense issued an official statement regarding Karen Danielyan’s death. Only two National Security Service colonels visited the family and informed about the incident.
Karen was a chef by profession and lived in the city of Hrazdan. He left for service with love, without waiting to finish his studies in college. He also has participated in chess championships in his hometown.
Narek Kirakosyan