Criminal Case Launched into Abuse Allegations of Soldier Admitted to Psych Ward

RA military prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan has instructed the launch of a criminal investigation into the case of Hovhannes Vardanyan, the 19-year-old conscript admitted into a psychiatric clinic, after his father Vardan Vardanyan charged that his son was beaten while serving in a military unit in Askeran, Nagorno-Karabakh.

 

Note, Armenia’s defense ministry issued a statement to this effect on Tuesday, after local media publicized the case.

 

As previously reported, local NGO Helsinki Association for Human Rights sent a letter to defense minister Seyran Ohanyan on Aug. 31, outlining the details of Vardanyan’s case.

 

The Helsinki Association asked the defense minister to entrust the proper agencies to conduct an investigation into the information relayed by Hovhannes Vardanyan’s father, Vardan Vardanyan, to uncover those guilty and hold them accountable.