Father of a Deceased Amenian Soldier yet to Be Recognized as Legal Successor

Although 20 days have passed since the death of 20-year-old Armenian soldier, resident of Arevshogh village of Armenia's Lori province Harutyun Hambaryan at an army base in Nagorno-Karabakh, the conscript's family has yet to be visited by an investigator, and Harutyun's father, Hrayr Hambaryan, to be named as his son's legal successor. In an interview with Epress.am the father said he was concerned about the silence of the authorities conducting the investigation. Hambaryan has consulted the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office (HCAV) on the issue of succession.

A HCAV representative told Epress.am it was best that the conscript's father be recognized as the legal successor as soon as possible, since only after that could he receive information about the proceedings and participate in the preliminary investigation as an aggrieved party. The main investigative steps, as stated by our interlocutor, have already been taken: according to the preliminary version the soldier committed suicide, and a fellow conscript, D. Harutyunyan, has been charged with humiliating and insulting Hambaryan.

Hrayr Hambaryan refused to express an opinion about the course of the investigation stating he did not know the details of the case. However, the father stressed he did not believe the suicide theory.

“I can only say that my son could not have committed suicide; he was strong both physically and mentally. He couldn't have resorted to such a measure. Those guilty must be punished, the question is 'who?',” Hambaryan said.