Teacher Turned Pariah, Avagian Behind Bars

On Mon., May 24, Levon Avagian, the former Armenian language and literature teacher accused of sexually abusing his students at the Nubarashen #11 boarding school for special needs children in Armenia, was sentenced to two years of imprisonment by the Erepuni Court. Five former students—the “injured party”—came forward to testify.

The court found Avagian, who taught at Nubarashen between 1985-2008, guilty under two parts of Article 142 of Republic of Armenia’s criminal code. He was sentenced to 6 months in jail under the first count, and 18 months under the second.

The light sentence was due to Avagian’s previously clean record and to his admission of guilt. Tigran Hayrapetian, representing the victims, told RFE/RL, “The maximum sentence was to have been five years in prison. Due to the efforts of the counsel for the prosecution and the defense, the maximum sentence was lowered to 40 months in prison. We think this is the sentence that should have been passed in this case.”

Tigran Hayrapetian and Avag Lalayan, representing the victims, stated that Avagian did not only engage in illicit encounters with his students, but was also physically violent with them, submitting them to beatings and inciting them to fight, reported Arman Gharibyan for Hetq.am.

Human rights activists and victims who were gathered at the courtroom were angered by the light sentence. Their posters read: “Lifetime Imprisonment,” “The Country Is Tolerating Pedophilia,” “Who Is Justifying the Actions of the Pedophile?”

Mariam Sukhudyan, a volunteer at the school who was responsible for bringing the abuse to light, expressed her disappointment at the mild sentence of “two years in face of 20 years of torments!” She added, “We must still make noise regarding the principal [of Nubarashen #11]. We must invite attention to this extremely important issue… That criminal will not continue to determine the fate of the children.”

Sukhudyan was referring to the school principal, Meruzhan Yengibarian, who had turned a blind eye to the students’ claims, and who in an interview with Haylur said, “[The students’] imaginative world is vast. Maybe it’s not that they are lying, but that they imagine things and then tell stories. Even fantasy writers couldn’t come up with such books.”

Lara Aharonian, a human rights activist and the founder of the Women’s Resource Center of Yerevan and its sister branch in Shushi, said, “They took [Avagyan] directly from the court handcuffed. His relatives tried to push us, shouted at us. One of them gave even a slap to Mariam Sukhudyan. They tried to tear our posters and [were] not letting us take photos. [They were] threatening us. The sentence is not perfect—still not fair for this—but it is a start. Now the work starts to change the law!”

Meanwhile, Armen Ashotyan, the minister of education and science, said he was pleased that justice had been served. When asked why Principal Yengibarian had retained his administrative position, Ashotyan spoke about the human resources required in special needs schools, but added, “I promise that you will soon see big changes in the system of schools for children with special needs. I will personally examine the facts of the case and if they prove to be true, I promise that I will deal with the issue of the principal of Nubarashen #11,” reported Lilit Nurijanyan for Hetq.am.

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Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian was the editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2014 to 2016. She served as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2010 to 2014. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk and Turkey. She earned her B.A. degree in Political Science and English and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts (Boston).