Jhoghovurd Newspaper Issues Urgent Statement on Former Police Chief Hayk Harutyunyan's Suicide

Jhoghovurd newspaper has issued an urgent statement regarding the suicide of former Armenian Police Chief Hayk Harutyunyan. It is noteworthy that today the newspaper's chief editor was interrogated. The statement is presented below:

“For two days now, the public has been shaken by the news of the suicide of former Armenian Police Chief Hayk Harutyunyan. Just as he was a closed, reserved person during his tenure as the police chief, similarly, after his suicide, various speculations are being made about the incident due to the scarce information available. First, we find it necessary to recall how the news was disseminated.

At the time when many people in the republic were asleep, Jhoghovurd newspaper's editor Knar Manukyan, having received exclusive information about the suicide, published it on the ArmLur.am website. The Armenian Police confirmed our information, and thereafter, other details about how the incident occurred, what weapon he used, etc., followed. In other words, the topic naturally had its logical continuation.

ArmLur.am reported that “Hayk Harutyunyan complained to a witness of his death (the name is not disclosed for understandable reasons) about how they do not understand that in all this, regarding the events of March 1, Robert Kocharyan, Gegham Petrosyan, and many others have no connection: ‘I am a general; I am being humiliated today. I am a dignified man, a dignified general. Now everything I have done in my life is falling apart… What are they doing, why are they treating us this way,’” said the former high-ranking official before inflicting a fatal gunshot wound to his head.

Of course, there were incomprehensible comments regarding how the journalist knew what Harutyunyan said, with accusations of the journalist being guided and so on. We briefly respond to all these accusations: the journalist-editor of Jhoghovurd newspaper is very competent in their work, and this is not the first time they have been the source of exclusive information published in Armenia. Of course, this will always be the case. But to prevent any questions from arising among readers, we should clarify that over the past year, Hayk Harutyunyan has been very depressed, despondent, and worried.

He had been isolating himself in his villa for months and had not been in contact with many people. Those who spoke with him during this period (including the journalist from Jhoghovurd) can recall that he often talked about what was published by ArmLur.am as thoughts he expressed in the final moments of his life. Moreover, Jhoghovurd has information that Hayk Harutyunyan was scheduled to be questioned again in the upcoming days regarding the case of altered bullets involving Vahagn Harutyunyan.

Additionally, there is also a criminal case opened regarding abuses within the Armenian Ministry of Justice's Penitentiary Institutions Administration, corresponding to the period when Hayk Harutyunyan was at the helm of the Armenian Prison Service. In other words, the noose around Harutyunyan was evidently tightening, and arrest was inevitable, and he had expressed continual dissatisfaction with this situation. It’s perhaps pointless to elaborate on what days the former prison chief could have expected in prison.

As to why investigative, prosecutorial, and other bodies are making noise and interrogating the journalist from Jhoghovurd, it is clear that their aim is to uncover the source of information, which will not happen under any circumstances. But regarding legal grounds, we must recall that Article 5 of the Law on Media clearly states: “Those engaged in journalistic activity and journalists shall not be obliged to reveal the source of information, except for the cases specified in part 2 of this article.” The second part defines: “Disclosure of the source of information may be compelled by a court ruling regarding criminal cases to clarify grave or particularly grave crimes if the necessity of legal protection of public interests is more significant than the public interest in not disclosing the source of information, and all other means of protecting public interests have been exhausted. In that case, upon the journalist's petition, the court proceedings shall be conducted in camera.”

It should be noted that the opened criminal case, classified as “inducing suicide,” is considered a medium severity crime; moreover, the preliminary investigation body must also substantiate that “all other means of protection of public interests have been exhausted.” This means that even in the event of an investigation, no one can compel the journalist to disclose their source.

As for the publication by ArmLur.am, its accuracy will be substantiated over time, as has been the case with dozens of criminal cases when initially everyone attacked us, insulted us through fake profiles, and regarded us as “mercenaries,” but some time later, the truth prevailed, and we proved that we write exclusively verified information and stand by every line we write. Let us recall that when in 2016 Jhoghovurd published an article about how the bodyguard of former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan slapped a deputy lieutenant colonel of the Ministry of Defense in the office of the former head of police, compelling him to testify against Colonel Samvel Khachatryan, the entire country's authorities turned against us, once again claiming the journalist was guided, and we were dubbed “traitors of the nation.” Even employees of the police came to the journalist's home to arrest him. It did not happen. But three years later, Jhoghovurd and Knar Manukyan managed to achieve that the Ministry of Defense's colonel was acquitted. We will always win by speaking out for justice and truth.”