Femicide Continues in Armenia: Mother and Daughter Severely Beaten Up, Mother Dead

Gyumri woke up to the horrendous crime news in the morning of February 6, 2020. A 28-year-old man severely beat up his 43-year-old female partner and her 13-year-old daughter. Gyumri’s prosecutor’s office reports that the abuser’s mother called an ambulance only 8 hours after the beating when the woman was already dead. Doctors identified the body of the woman without signs of life, while the daughter was hospitalized with severe intracranial traumas, unconscious. The girl has been transferred to Yerevan and is currently in the intensive care unit at “St. Holy Mother Hospital”.

A criminal case has opened on the basis of Article 112 (Part 2, Clause 1 and 14) of the Criminal Code for intentionally inflicting severe damage to two and more persons’ health by negligibly causing death. The man is arrested.

MP Hamazasp Danielyan of “My Step” intervened in a parliamentary session today and spoke about the incident emphasizing that this is the 3rd case of domestic homicide in 2020, while the criminal charges are brought by articles not specifying domestic violence. He juxtaposed the upcoming March 8 preparations of giving flowers and balloons by most men, while violence against women within families continues. Law enforcement bodies, the society at large need to reevaluate their role and prevent such crimes, he said.

MP Nazeli Baghdasaryan also spoke at the Parliament. She emphasized that the crime occurred in daylight, in a densely populated district where the surrounding people remained indifferent. “Why am I emphasizing this, because in interviews to media, the neighbors attested that these family members were often in bruises. This speaks about the indifference of the society. Unfortunately, when we say that we have violence in our society, some people reject and say this is not compatible with our national values. No, it exists, my colleagues!” Nazeli Baghdasaryan called for a more active role of the Parliament to adopt laws that would prevent such violence.

In the meanwhile, homicide by an intimate partner is still not an aggravating factor in characterizing the crime. Should domestic violence be acknowledged by the legal system as a factor aggravating the act, punishment would have been more severe.