Family of Armavir Man Who Allegedly Killed Himself in Jail Gets Visit from ‘Threatening’ Pair

Two people in civilian clothes visited the family of Armavir penitentiary inmate Anzor Karapetyan who was found hanged in his cell on January 4, a few hours after being transferred to the prison. In a statement issued late on Wednesday the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office (HCAV) said the unknown men asked Karapetyan's grandfather questions in a threatening tone.

The 21-year-old man, as reported earlier by the human rights organization, participated in a fight on December 21, 2015 in the Armenian town of Armavir. He then turned himself in to the police and was arrested on the spot. On January 3, a court ruled to send Karapetyan to Armavir jail. The next day, prison officials handed the young man's body over to his relatives, saying that he had committed suicide. The family, however, finds suicide implausible and has turned to HCAV for legal representation.

The pair who visited Karapetyan's house, HCAV's statement reads, did not introduce themselves; they first expressed their condolences to the young man's grandfather and then tried to find out what actions the family intended to take in the future.

“Learning that the relatives were determined to find out the circumstances of the incident, they asked in a threatening tone: 'Do you plan to stand by your words to the end?' Karapetyan's grandfather, who had initially assumed the pair were journalists interested in the details of the case, realized upon hearing their threatening tone that the visit had an entirely different purpose,” HCAV writes.