Defense Ministry: Soldier Found in ‘Hanged State’

On Oct. 3, Armenia’s Ministry of Defense issued a press release stating that the body of serviceman Samuel Khatchadryan was discovered in a hanged state at the N military outpost.

The body was discovered on the eve of Oct. 3. Khatchadryan, 18, was supposed to be taking part in field maneuvers since Sept. 13. An investigation is underway.

In recent months, the Defense Ministry has faced much criticism for abuses and deaths in the army. A recent Youtube clip showed two soldiers being abused at the hands of their superior. The abuser was later identified as Major Sasun Kalsdyan at the N military outpost.

Within a month, between July and August, eight army officers were shot dead in three separate incidents. One involved the death of contract soldier Artak Nazaryan, which authorities claimed was suicide, while his family insists was murder.

Following incidents in July, the Defense Ministry dismissed 8 army officers, among them the commander of the Martuni military unit, Colonel Felix Baghdasaryan, and reprimanded 13 others.

Human rights groups have insisted that most army suicides are homicides, but tampering with evidence on the part of army officers has made them appear as suicides. In June 2008, the families of soldiers who died during military service between 2005 and 2008 issued a statement in which they accused authorities of systematically carrying out false investigations and destroying or tampering with evidence in order to portray homicides as accidents, suicides, or results of sniper attacks, noted the 2008 State Department Country Report.

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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).