Epress.am News from Armenia
RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan (pictured) is obliged to keep in check bodies under his defense ministry’s jurisdiction, including keeping military police from coercing witnesses.
So reads a statement by Tsovinar Nazaryan, sister of rifle platoon commander Artak Nazaryan, who died suddenly while serving in Tavush marz (province) during peacetime on Jul. 27, 2010, and her representatives Mushegh Shushanyan and Ruben Martirosyan. The parties also insist that Ohanyan is obliged to order the defense ministry’s Investigative Service to launch a new criminal case on the circumstances surrounding Artak’s death and carry out a multi-faceted, impartial and complete investigation.
The statement came about as a result of one of the more important witnesses in Artak’s case, Arman Mnatsakanyan, not yet being discharged from military service though the term of his mandatory two-year service expired on Dec. 4.
On Thursday, Tsovinar Nazaryan informed Epress.am that in court, Arman Mnatsakanyan’s testimonies often contradicted not only each other but also his earlier testimony given during the preliminary investigation. Thus, Artak’s family and their representatives believe military police coerced the witness.
“In the situation described, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan as ‘head of a state body’ is personally responsible in keeping the witness under military police custody as much as in obstructing objectivity in the trial of Artak Nazaryan’s case and covering up the truth,” reads the statement.
Recall, the defense ministry claims that Artak’s death was a suicide; however, an autopsy and physical examination of the body conducted later revealed traces of violence on his face and body, inflicted upon the platoon commander 6 hours before his death. Deputy of the military base where Nazaryan was employed, Captain Hakob Manukyan, as well as fellow soldiers Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, Adibek Hovhannisyan and Harutik (Harutyun) Kirakosyan are named as the accused in the case.