“My son did not commit suicide; my son was very happy, proud person,” Tamara Gasparyan, the mother of contract soldier Sargis Khachatryan, told Forrights.am. Her son died on the night of July 2-3 in the positions of Verin Shorzha. The investigative committee called the incident a suicide. Tamara Gasparyan is upset: they considered it a suicide before her son’s body was cold.
“My son was my friend; we were not just a mother and a son. If he was in trouble, he would have told me. Even before the body was taken to the morgue, they announced that he had committed suicide. Why? At the Military Police of Vardenis, I asked where is their officer in charge? They said, put that issue aside. I asked, if you say my son committed suicide, who did he talk to the last time, they say, put that issue aside too. I was mad, distraught at that moment,” the mother says in a conversation with Forrights.am and notes that the Military Police of Vardenis did not even respect her grief: they made fun of her when she tried to understand why her son died.
“I ask, when was the last call, they mock me, they say, are you talking about the last bell-call of the school? My son lies dead in the military unit of Vardenis, they mock me. For them, the soldier is nothing, zero. My son is not the only one. There have been 16 cases since January, my son is the 16th, and did all of them commit suicide?” she says.
According to Ms. Tamara, the last line of disrespect to her was when she asked her to hand over her son’s military uniform, but without a court ruling, they announced that he had committed suicide and they cannot give his military uniform.
“I tell the soldier, ‘I want clothes for my son,’ and they answer, ‘What are you doing?’ I want to smell my son, that’s what I want. What I’m saying is, they say put those questions aside,” he said.
The mother spoke to her son for the last time hours before the incident, around 19:00. The boy did not speak about any problem, the mood was high. “Going to the post office was a joy for him, his intelligence was not his. The day we talked, he was happy, he found out that I was closing compote, he told me to close so that I can come drink and go to certification. My son had no reason to commit suicide, he was a strong boy. They talk unrelatedly,” says the mother, recalling the last telephone conversation with her son.
“I tell the military people, ‘I want the clothes of my son,’ and they answer, ‘What are you going to do with them?’ I want to smell my son, that’s what I want to do. Whatever, they sa I say, they answer ‘Put those issues aside’,” she said.
The mother spoke to her son for the last time hours before the incident, around 19:00. The boy did not speak about any problem, he was in very good mood. “Going to the position was a joy for him. The day we talked, he was happy. When he found out that I was making fruit preserves, he said, great, I will come, eat it and go to attestation. My son had no reason to commit suicide; he was a strong boy,” says the mother, recalling the last telephone conversation with her son.
Sargis was 20 years old. He went to mandatory military service under the “Defender of the Homeland” program. After six months of service, he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense, he was supposed to serve for five years. Sargis lived with his mother, two brothers and a sister: his father died three years ago. The family saw Sargis five days before the incident.
The mother speaks about the painful loss of her son and the disrespectful treatment of the relevant bodies with tears in her eyes: it saddens her that soldiers have no value for officials.
Tamara Gasparyan considers her son’s death not suicide, but murder. The mother points out the problems in the positions, which are not solved. She raises the question: where were the person in charge of the position: the boy’s immediate commander and other high-ranking military personnel who are responsible for preventing non-statutory actions?
“Let the higher officials go and check the position. Their position is in disorderly state. Where is their officer in charge? Why didn’t the Sargis’s co-servicemen who returned from the position come to offer condolences? Why didn’t they come? If they were innocent, wouldn’t they come? I don’t blame anyone, but my child was shot. He was a truth speaker, he said to everyone whatever he knew to be true,” said his mother, revealing another remarkable piece of information.
“On the day of the incident, my son’s position was changed: he was not with his friends. It was in Verin Shorzha, but not in his usual post.” The mother has no answer as to why her son was transferred to another position.
The investigation committee considered this case of death a suicide. The law-enforcement structure announced that a criminal case has been initiated under Article 522, Part 2, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code, that is, causing a soldier to commit suicide or attempted suicide through threats, cruel treatment or humiliating personal honor and dignity in a military unit or other place of military service by another serviceman during combat duty or combat service.
Sargis’s family is afraid that the boy’s death will be covered up by presenting a false motive. According to the family, there are already false hypotheses circulating, in particular, that the son took such a step because of financial or girl-related problems.
“They said he took such a step because of a girl, for debts, but it’s a lie: my son had no secrets from me. He wouldn’t shoot himself for a girl. The military told me that it was a girl’s issue,” said Tamara Gasparyan, and Sargis’ brother, Narek Khachatryan, added:
“A soldier told me that his girlfriend ran away and it was because of her girlfriend. They say the person standing with him in the position heard that he was talking on the phone, got the impression that he was talking to a girl. In the beginning, these were the hypotheses, but they are not reality. Then they said that he gave his helmet and vest to a fellow soldier, said he was going to the toilet and did not come back, but I don’t believe their version either. He would not have shot himself of his own free will, or he was instigated, or there was sabotage, I can’t imagine anything else.”
Mrs. Tamarai and Narek will fight to reveal all the circumstances of the case. And until then, his mother will live with a non-healing wound, and Sargis will never call his mother again between 9 and 10 in the morning to say good morning, which he did every morning.
Sargis was shot in the chin: this is written in the message of the Investigative Committee. However, it is noteworthy that the family was not given a death certificate in the morgue, where the description of the injury incompatible with life should be indicated. Apart from this, the mother and brother were not recognized as successors of the victim. In connection with the death of Sargis, no one from the Ministry of Defense visited the family, nor did the immediate commander and fellow soldiers. Only the deputy commander of the regiment came and left without giving any important information.
Narek Kirakosyan