Impunity Reigns in the Military: Nina Karapetyants

Impunity reigns in the military. This was stated today, February 20, during a rally outside the government by human rights defender Nina Karapetyants.

“Since our last rally, there has been some movement; the Minister of Defense and other officials were urgently summoned. I have no information on what was discussed, but there have been dismissals, and a Security Council meeting is scheduled for the coming days. However, all these measures will yield no results as long as impunity prevails in the military and is supported by our Prosecutor's Office and investigative bodies, which do not uncover these cases. I am more than convinced that if the names that have been mentioned, the generals, had been revealed 13 years ago, the maximum punishment would have been faced by a sergeant. Today, I received a call from Alexander Ghazaryan, who said they sent us a letter, and I replied that I had not expected a written response because we did not write an application; we made a statement and expect a meeting. Two years after the revolution, we have a situation where one person resolves issues; that is Pashinyan, and we demand a meeting with him. Let the mothers and other parents show what the situation is with criminal cases, how these criminal cases are concealed,” she noted.

The human rights defender emphasizes that while Nikol Pashinyan awards them medals and epaulettes, we have new victims: “How do they demonstrate 97 percent detection? They applaud themselves; Nikol Pashinyan awards them medals and epaulettes, but we have new victims. If the cases had been revealed properly, we would not have these victims. I hope Nikol Pashinyan will accept human rights defenders because there should be alternative perspectives regarding these criminal cases. The Prosecutor General was involved in these concealments before and is still continuing to serve, kissing the cross of the revolution, and they are doing the same now, as is the military prosecutor's office and military police. There will be no resolution as long as these cases remain undisclosed.”

Human rights defenders and citizens also gathered in front of the government to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and leaders of the security forces immediately after the government session to address their questions regarding the murders/suicides occurring in the military and to receive answers.