Epress.am News from Armenia
Lamara Manukyan, mother of Sergei Manukyan, who died on Nov. 10, 2009, during his military service, appealed to RA Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan a month ago, asking him to reopen her son’s case and take the right path on the case. Note, according to official reports, Sergei committed suicide, but his mother is convinced her son was murdered.
The minister advised Lamara Manukyan to contact the military prosecutor, which she did. Later, on Nov. 30, she received a letter informing her that the preliminary investigation into the case had recommenced.
Regardless, Manukyan, speaking to Epress.am, expressed fear that investigative bodies will again arrive at the same conclusion.
Note, commander of military base 20/66 in the village of Noravan in Sisian Gegham Asatryan and platoon commander Vahagn Gasparyan, who were found guilty of inciting Sergei to murder, were arrested and sentenced to 6 and 7 years in prison, respectively.
Lamara Manukyan, however, believes that the men should’ve received a more serious punishment. Recalling the incident, Manukyan described how when her son’s body was brought home, an investigator and a lieutenant-colonel visited them, informing her that her son had killed himself. They suggested she sign a document confirming that it was suicide. At first, she didn’t agree, but they assured her that everything would be determined in court and so, Manukyan signed.
“I’d never been to a courtroom; I’d only seen it in movies. But this wasn’t court; it was a performance, a show. That Goris judge was a hooligan — Hamlet Davtyan. There was only one witness in the case, Gor Momchyan, who in his preliminary testimony said from his position, he saw how the unit commander slapped Sergei and swore at him; blood was flowing from where he was hit and the blood from Sergei’s face scraped the nearby pipe. The commander, who drove like a maniac, hit and swore at Sergei for opening the unit’s gates a little late. In court, however, Gor said he didn’t remember anything, and when I said you couldn’t forget such a thing in your entire life, Gor said whatever happened, he wrote. And that was already enough for me,” she said.
According to information that she’s gathered, Manukyan told Epress.am that the platoon commander was also known for kicking soldier’s shins.
Furthermore, Manukyan asserts that her son was left-handed, but in the documents alleging his suicide, it’s written that he fired an automatic weapon into his mouth using his right hand. In addition, there were several injuries on her son’s body at the time of his death, which has led his mother to believe that he was murdered.