Video: No grounds to claim murder occurred, says Deputy Head of Special Investigation Service about Harutyunyan’s case

The criminal case regarding the death of former police chief Haik Harutyunyan has been initiated under the article related to incitement to suicide. This was stated today, September 25, during a conversation with journalists by Vladimir Hovhannisyan, the Deputy Head of the Armenian Special Investigation Service.

"As far as I know, at this moment there are no grounds to claim that a murder occurred. The investigation is being carried out by the Investigative Committee, and I suggest that inquiries regarding such matters be addressed to them," he said.

Regarding the question of whether it was correct to publish personal information indicating that he was not alone at home and was under the influence of alcohol, he noted: "The publication was not carried out by the Special Investigation Service. Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibits the publication of preliminary investigation data. It is stipulated that the volume of information subject to publication in any case is determined by the body conducting the particular criminal proceedings, that is, the investigator. Each investigator is authorized to decide on the volume of information subject to publication in their procedural activity."

As for media reports alleging that the head of the Special Investigation Service, Sasun Khachatryan, pressured Haik Harutyunyan to provide certain testimony, Vladimir Hovhannisyan briefly responded: "These do not correspond to reality, they are fabrications."

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