Brother of Deceased Soldier Refuses to Bury Body Until Fair Investigation is Conducted

The family of Vahram Avagyan, a soldier who died under peaceful conditions while serving, rejects the official version that their son committed suicide in the military unit.

"The relevant authorities are either not conducting a proper investigation or are trying to cover up what happened. My brother couldn't have committed suicide; he was not capable of such an act," said Vahan Avagyan, the brother of the soldier from the Haytag community in Armavir province, in a conversation with Auroranews.

Vahram had been drafted into the army six months ago and was serving in Artsakh. The soldier died on January 30 at around 13:15. The Investigative Committee announced that the soldier fired shots from a Kalashnikov assault rifle into his chest and was taken to a military hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 14:00.

Vahan recounts that he spoke with his brother just an hour before the incident. "We were transferring him money every month for personal expenses, and that day I was supposed to send some, too. We had spoken two times before that because there was an issue with his bank card, and he gave me his friend's account number. The first time we spoke was at 10:10, and the second time just an hour before the incident. He is my brother, and if he were in a bad state, I would have sensed it somehow, but we talked normally; everything was fine," he stated.

When asked if his brother had faced issues during his service or had mentioned any problems, Vahan responded, "He had no problems at all; he always said that he was fine and serving normally. Everyone has adaptation issues at the beginning of their service, but he had been serving for six months and had no problems or conflicts whatsoever. We will not bury my brother's body until a fair investigation is conducted, until the truth is established. We cannot bury him like this; the relevant authorities must clarify what happened. We are all convinced that this was not suicide; that misinformation must be disproven, and those responsible must be punished," he asserted.

It should be noted that a criminal case has been initiated under part 1 of Article 110 of the RA Criminal Code at the first garrison investigative department, and an investigation is underway.