Wanted to Sleep on Junior Sergeant's Bed, Argument Ended in Suicide: Case in Court

A conscript soldier in 2017 wanted to permanently sleep on a junior sergeant's bed, which led to a dispute resulting in the junior sergeant hanging himself from a tree. The case is currently being adjudicated.

This information comes from the Judicial Information System. According to the indictment, H. Margaryan, serving as a conscript soldier in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, was not performing duties related to his military rank and, due to the rejection of his proposal to sleep on the bed of junior sergeant V. Melkonyan—who, according to Article 34 of the Internal Service Regulations of the RA Armed Forces, is his superior—had an argument with Melkonyan in the barracks of the first division’s household service area on July 22, 2017, at around 11:30 PM.

During this argument, Margaryan violated the disciplinary regulations by verbally insulting and physically assaulting superior junior sergeant V. A. Melkonyan with a single blow to the face, which inadvertently led to severe consequences. Following the incident, Melkonyan developed a severely depressed mental state, which ultimately resulted in him committing suicide by hanging himself from a tree hours later using his military belt.

A criminal case has been initiated under part 4 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code. The case has been assigned to Judge Nelli Baghdasaryan of the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court. A measure of restraint has been chosen for Margaryan, prohibiting him from leaving.