“I finished talking to him at four past twenty. They said he died at half past four. The murder took place ten minutes after talking to me,” said Anush Petrosyan in a conversation with Forrights.am. Anush Petrosyan is the mother of soldier Murad Grigoryan, who was killed by a fellow soldier on July 26, according to preliminary information.
Murad Grigoryan served in Vayk region of Armernia. The investigative committee put forward two versions of Murad’s death. At first they announced that the soldier committed suicide, pointing out that “The machine gun attached to him was found lying on the ground next to him.” Then they announced that the serviceman was killed and a fellow soldier and the senior of the position were arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting him with a firearm, who, according to the CC, tried to create the impression that Murad committed suicide.
In a conversation with Forrights.am, the parents said that the serviceman who was detained was next to Murad when he was talking to them on the phone. The mother said that she heard him asking for the phone from her son.
“The shooter was Boyov[nickname meaning Tall], his name is Armen, he is one of his fellow soldiers, because, if the Turk didn’t shoot, it was the guy next to him alone, who else would haveshot?” During the conversation, Boyov came and asked for the phone. He said: Murad, give me the phone and Morad said ‘I’m talking, I’ll finish, I’ll give it to you’. I heard that he said ‘Murad, you go, take your weapon, I brought mine with me’. If Murad hadn’t hung up the phone, I might have heard the shot,” says the mother and adds that she felt that her son was in good mood when talking with her; they discussed everyday issues, he asked for hygiene items; his voice did not cause any concern.
The father, Seryozha Grigoryan, told us the following. “He was shot from the side; he was wearing his vest and the helmet was put aside. The shooter shot aiming: he hit the carotid artery. If he had shot somewhere else, he was wearing body armor vest… He did not have any conflicts. My boy always said that the posts are neat, and the personnel is good.”
Murad is the eldest son of the Grigoryans. He went to the service under the “Defender of the Motherland” program. The father says that he had many goals. The family made plans for the future with Murad. The mother also remembers how her son planned to spend his first salary. “He said: as soon as I get my [first] salary, I will come and buy a good phone for my brother, I will buy a car with the next months’ pays… we were talking like that.”
It can be said that Murad grew up in positions. The father says that the trenches and the everyday life of a soldier became close to his son’s heart even in his youth, as they were living in the border village of Vazashen, Tavush region. During the 44-day war, Murad was 16 years old and spent the whole day in positions. Vazashen is located a few kilometers away from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Armenian positions are 800 meters away from the village. The father says that Murad spent his days with those who came to the positions: he took them water, food, charged their phones, broke wood to furnish the positions and carried it to them. “I went to Artsakh, during the war, he used to say to me ‘dad, I don’t trust the MOB, they are not familiar [to these places], I am next to them all day long to show the positions, to show the trails…”
The family was informed about the loss of their son at the village hall. Seryozha Grigoryan was invited there and told that Murad is no more. “They said we have bad news: Murad is no more. I fainted; I do not know how they brought me home,” he said.
At the initial stage regarding Murad’s death, the hypothesis of suicide was circulating. The parents ruled it out from the beginning. “When they said that he had committed suicide, I said, ‘I don’t believe.’ He was not fragile, he was not the type that could take that step ever,” says the mother. And the father adds: “Those who knew him said that nothing like this could happen. He never touched anyone in his life and did not allow others to touch him. He was a quiet, modest boy.
Murad Grigoryan’s parents demand a fair trial. In a conversation with Forrights.am, they said that they have no information from the investigation. The father blames not only the shooter, but also the whole system, listing the problems. “Not one person is guilty: many people are guilty. There are guilty starting from Military Commissariat, where from my son joined the army: there are doctors, there are psychologists, there are commanders≥≥≥ the entire collection is to blame,” says the father.
Murad’s father and mother state that they have not been recognized as the successor of the victim yet. Forrights.am will continue to follow the course of the investigation.
Narek Kirakosyan