Letter Written to Mother of Deceased Soldier with Son's Photo: "Mom, how are you?" Followed by "kisses"

On the night of May 4, 2018, a cruel act was committed against Marine Gasparyan, the mother of 20-year-old soldier Arthur Gasparyan, who died at a combat outpost. Following this incident, the woman, Marine Gasparyan, appears to have relived the loss of her son for the second time. She opened her 'Odnoklassniki' social media account and discovered that someone had created a page with her son's photo and wrote to her, "Hello, mom, how are you?" Beneath it, a kiss sign was included, reports Forrights.am.

The mother was shaken and unable to read the message in full. "I could only read a couple of words – I’m going to your son’s grave... and there was an ugly threat. I screamed, and the phone fell from my hand. What kind of hatred do they have for my child, what kind of bone was he in their throat that they devoured my son's life, got away, and still don’t rest? This means there is someone behind them who they trust will not be judged, which is why they commit such acts," she said in distress to the news outlet.

She struggles to speak, tears streaming down her face. The mother received the threats on March 31, 2019. Marine Gasparyan reported it to the investigators, who replied that the page had already been deleted, and they could not reveal who had created it. "They attempted to threaten the mother through social media. We have strong reason to suspect that the one who threatened her is the murderer," attorney Khanum Mkrtchyan, who represents the interests of the victim's legal heir, told Forrights.am. The investigator said that sufficient time has passed; a request was sent to the headquarters of 'Odnoklassniki,' and so far, they have not received a response.

Khanum Mkrtchyan believes that the threats are linked to Marine Gasparyan’s frequent calls to the investigators working on the case, inquiring about the investigation into her son's murder. "I am absolutely convinced that what happened was a murder, the perpetrator has not rested since, and now he wants to scare Arthur's mother," stated Mkrtchyan.

It should be noted that Private Arthur Gasparyan suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the oral cavity from two shots. Initially, the preliminary investigation body examined the case under Article 110 of the Criminal Code on inciting suicide. "This does not mean that suicide is a confirmed hypothesis; it's more likely a 50/50 chance," investigators told Gasparyan's relatives. Days after Gasparyan's parents, along with other bereaved parents, met with the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Investigative Committee announced that charges had been filed against the senior officer of the combat position under Part 1 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code for violating combat duty regulations. The Investigative Committee reported that there is evidence that Private Arthur Gasparyan was unduly humiliated. A complex expert examination was inadequately conducted. There were tears in the deceased's clothing, and injuries; however, no examination of the clothing had been carried out. The investigator noted that no traces of shots were found on the samples taken from the body parts of six soldiers at the outpost. "However, according to seven expert conclusions, copper metallic traces, which usually appear after a gunshot, were found on the faces and hands of all the soldiers at that outpost. This means that they were on the scene during the shooting," Mkrtchyan assures.

Currently, there are no individuals detained or charged in the case. Among the soldiers mentioned by the attorney, the senior officer B.S. and S.D. discovered Arthur Gasparyan's body, according to investigators. "In other words, they were not witnesses; they found the body later, but they had a considerable amount of debris on them." Khanum Mkrtchyan submitted four motions to the investigative body for additional expert examinations, which were deemed justified and accepted. "We are told, ‘there are no grounds for arresting anyone.’ Tell us whom to apply to if you can’t uncover the truth; who should we turn to? If my child's case is not solved, if those six individuals, who were next to my child, are not judged, I will sue the investigator. There were only six people. Can’t you find out about those six? Then why are you working at all? They turned me into a person living with hatred. I don’t care if it's Nikol or whoever, it's the Constitution, whatever it is; I just need someone to stand up and answer me why they killed my child," said Marine Gasparyan.