Epress.am News from Armenia
The criminal investigation into the case of Hovhannes Vardanyan, the 19-year-old soldier who became mentally ill after serving over a year of his two-year military service in Askeran, Nagorno-Karabakh, is underway but no arrests have yet been made, Meri Sargsyan, head of the media and public relations division at the RA Ministry of Defense’s investigative service, told Epress.am today.
Recall, RA military prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan on Sept. 6 instructed the launch of a preliminary investigation on charges of “abuse of power, transgression of authority or administrative dereliction” (Article 375 Article 1 of Armenia’s Criminal Code) into Hovhannes Vardanyan’s case after his father charged that his son was beaten while serving in the Askeran military unit.
Hovannes was moved to the Nork psychiatric clinic at the Psychiatric Medical Center, where after receiving treatment for 24 days, he was brought home.
Earlier, Hovannes’ father, Vardan Vardanyan, had told Epress.am that his son was doing better since being discharged from the psychiatric clinic. In addition to getting treated by the local doctor, Hovhannes is also receiving treatment from a private psychiatrist.