Mother of Killed Soldier Received Notice to Appear in Court Too Late

The case of Torgom Sarukhanyan, 22, the soldier who died of gunshot wounds in one of the military units in Khojaly, Nagorno-Karabakh, on Feb. 12, 2011, has been sent to court. This news was conveyed to Epress.am by the Yerevan-based Helsinki Association for Human Rights, one of its members (Arman Veziryan) of which represents the victim’s successor in the case.

The first court session in this case was set for yesterday, Jan. 18, at 6 pm at the Syunik Region Court of General Jurisdiction (at its seat in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh); however, neither the victim’s legal successor nor her representatives were able to get to court since Torgom’s mother, Lena Sarukhanyan, received the court notice on Jan. 18, and naturally, could not travel to Stepanakert from Gyumri on such short notice.

Recall, Torgom’s mother, in conversation with Epress.am several months ago, said she believes that her son was ordered to carry out certain tasks which are not part of a soldier’s duties, which were to have been kept secret, and so that they remain a secret, her son was killed after the work was done.

Torgom was drafted into the army from Gyumri and was to have completed his mandatory service last summer. According to the official cause of death, Torgom was provoked into committing suicide.