Military Conscript Did Not Commit Suicide, Says Expert

Hovsep Muradyan, father of 20-year-old military conscript Arman Muradyan who died in one of the military units in Martakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, on July 30, 2013, doesn't believe in the suicide theory, he told Epress.am today. Also not believing the investigators' claims of suicide is military expert, Peace Dialogue NGO representative Ruben Martirosyan, who said there are a number of circumstances in the case that disprove the suicide theory. 

Speaking to Epress.am, Martirosyan declared his intention to present those circumstances during the trial; however, he decided to reveal at least one of these circumstances. According to the official version, the young man killed himself with the gun on his person. Details about the type of weapon are attached to the criminal case; meanwhile, Martirosyan claims that attached to the case is also the military ID booklet where it notes a completely different type of weapon assigned to Muradyan. 

"Therefore, the aggrieved party appealed to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, asking to be provided with a certificate about the movement of the assigned or allegedly assigned weapon. After a long delay, they wrote us that we can find out about this from the case materials at the Syunik District Court of First Instance. In fact, we received an explicit refusal, since information about the movement of weapons does not exist in the criminal case," the expert told Epress.am. 

Martirosyan said that he and the victim's legal successor intend to submit a second request to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, as well as to the president of the de-facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. 

The military expert is convinced that certificates about the weapon in the case are fake, which is why they don't want to provide them with additional information.

Hovsep Muradyan said he will protest against holding the court sessions in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the decision of the judicial bodies, the case will be examined at the Stepanakert residence of the Syunik District Court of First Instance; however, the father insists this decision is unlawful. 

"Holding court sessions in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh contradicts the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, since the Court of the Republic of Armenia cannot have a residence in the territory of another state," said Muradyan, whose son was drafted into the army from the military commissariat in Talin.