NKR Defense Army Junior Sergeant Fatally Shot by Conscript, Officials Say

A Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army conscript has been arrested as part of the investigation into the March 17 death of junior sergeant Hovhannes Harutyunyan, Armenia's Investigative Committee reported Tuesday, March 22. 

NKR military authorities had reported earlier that Hovhannisyan's death was “the result of violating the rules of safe firearm handling.” The Investigative Committee statement, however, said “preliminary investigation has found that at the combat positions [of a NKR military unit] there was an argument between Harutyunyan and [an unnamed] conscript as a result of which the latter fatally shot Harutyunyan in the head.”

The arrested soldier has been charged with “murder committed from hooligan prompting” (RA Criminal Code Article 104 Part 2.10).