In the most recent US Department of State report on human rights in Armenia, there was a section about deaths in the military. “Many of the families of soldiers who died under non-combat conditions, who continued to demand investigation of the deaths, alleged that [Movses] Hakobyan (former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces) was instrumental in covering up such deaths,” the report stated.
“We have been reporting the statistics of deaths in the military since 2010. I am not a law enforcement officer to confirm whether or not Movses Hakobyan ordered those deaths,” the head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, Artur Sakunts, told Aravot Daily in an interview.
Activist Zhanna Aleksanyan also noted that the Ministry of Defense does not have specific requirements or limitations that would determine what cases are considered combat deaths, and what cases are considered non-combat deaths.
In the Department of State human rights report, it also states that, “according to media reports, law enforcement bodies reopened investigations into some of the older non-combat death cases.” Activist Avetik Ishkhanyan confirmed this in an interview with Aravot Daily. “Several cases have been reopened, but I do not have any information about their progress. This is also regarding the deaths of several of the sons of the women dressed in black. But, as they say in the media, there is no movement in their cases.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
