Suren Khachatryan's Younger Son Declared Unfit for Military Service

The younger son of former Syunik governor Suren Khachatryan, Tigran Khachatryan, has been declared unfit for military service. This was reported by the Military Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee in response to Hetq's written inquiry.

Tigran Khachatryan is accused under part 2, point 2 of article 327 of the Criminal Code for falsifying documents or obtaining exemptions from compulsory military service through deceit.

Last year, on August 10, Tigran Khachatryan was subjected to a complex medical, psychiatric, and military medical commission examination. We inquired whether the results of the examination, a year later, were still not ready, and if it is possible to document the exemption from military service that Khachatryan has received on legal grounds.

“According to the conclusion of the complex examination conducted by the medical, psychiatric, and military medical commission, Tigran Khachatryan has been declared unfit for military service. As for the question of Tigran Khachatryan’s legal exemption from military service, it will be evaluated during the final decision-making of the criminal case,” the response stated.

The Investigative Committee also mentioned that the preliminary investigation of the case is ongoing.

After facing charges, Tigran Khachatryan wrote an open letter to Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan, explaining how it came to be that he was declared unfit for compulsory military service during the winter draft of 2017.

“In fact, I acquired this condition due to the horrific incident that occurred in 2013 in Goris, in our backyard, during mutual gunfire, where Avetik Budaghyan was killed, and Nikolay Abrahamyan and Artak Budaghyan suffered serious injuries. I was involved in this incident and helped the injured. Avetik Budaghyan died in my hands, and with the help of the boys, I placed the wounded into a car and transported them to the Goris hospital. This phenomenon had a profound impact on me. A year after this incident, doctors diagnosed me with 'moderately expressed neurasthenia', and for that reason, I received a deferment, although at that time I also wanted to be drafted,” Tigran Khachatryan wrote.

In his letter, Khachatryan also mentioned that he sought help from various medical centers, after which improvements in his health were observed, and emphasized that regardless of the examination results, he is ready to serve in the Armed Forces.

After being charged, a prohibition on leaving the country was imposed on him as a measure of restraint.

It should be noted that Suren Khachatryan's elder son, Tigran Khachatryan, is also accused of falsifying documents or obtaining exemptions from compulsory military service through deceit. He has been placed on the wanted list.