They could not have been unaware, they are very well informed about the morgue's saturation: Director of the Abovyan branch

According to 'Hraparak', after the horrifying footage from the Abovyan morgue was published, as it is known, the director of the 'Forensic Medical Scientific Center' state non-commercial organization’s Abovyan branch and two employees involved in the incident have been dismissed. The director of the organization received a severe reprimand.

After the disrespectful treatment of the bodies of the fallen soldiers during the war was revealed, the Ministry issued a statement: 'Despite the fact that the relocation of remains is not advisable, and the current storage conditions meet scientific requirements, we have decided to accommodate the wishes of the families and transfer them to another forensic center's refrigerated unit to spare relatives from further shocks.'

However, one day later, acting Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan apologized for the improper handling of the corpses and remains, and then dismissed the morgue director and two staff members. Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan declared at a government meeting that the government or the Minister of Health cannot go around to all morgues every day to see what condition they are in.

We spoke with the now-former director of the morgue, Henri Avagyan:

- Please tell me, since when and by whose order have the bodies and remains of soldiers killed in the war been in the Abovyan morgue?

- Why don't you ask the ministry?

- We are asking the ministry as well.

- I can say that I have done my utmost within my capacity. The bodies were brought to Abovyan on May 28 by order of my supervisor.

- By whose order?

- My supervisor's.

- From the ministry or the organization?

- My superordinate goes up to the ministry.

- So initially, was the ministry aware that you did not have appropriate conditions to store the bodies?

- How could they not know about the conditions? They are the managers; how could they not know about the saturation of that subdivision?

- Suppose they did not know. Did you not inform them that conditions were inadequate and they needed to be created? Secondly, where were the bodies brought from on May 28, and why?

- It was not possible to organize it in one day. The bodies were brought on the 28th, we tried to organize it, but it just turned out the way it turned out. They were brought from Metsamor; their refrigerator had broken down. It was an urgent, unforeseen situation that needed to be resolved quickly until further solutions were made.

- How many bodies were transferred to you?

- 21 were brought on the 28th, but our refrigerator can accommodate 10; 10 were stored in the refrigerator.

- Was more brought after the 28th? Because in the pictures, there seem to be many more bags visible.

- No, none were brought. There are also remains there, that's why.

- Why was the issue not resolved quickly? When did those pictures spread, and when were they taken?

- Everything that could be done was done to resolve the issue.

- However, relatives visiting the morgue and MP Naira Zohrabyan said that there were rooms filled with flies, mold, and the stench was suffocating. Is it possible for such a condition to arise in one day? The ministry also stated in the first clarification that the storage conditions in Abovyan met scientific criteria.

- Of course, it could have happened. Those are very old cases; unknown cases have always been in that situation.

- You say unknown, but the ministry's clarification states that many DNA analyses were done, and simply the families did not collect them.

- Yes, among them, there are many cases that have been identified but are not collected. The ministry has those names; they—the relatives—know that they have been confirmed, but I cannot say why they do not want to believe or take them.

- Was there any remains or bodies of fallen soldiers with you before May 28? How many, and in what conditions were they stored?

- Yes, there were, but I cannot give a number.

- Where were those bags? What rooms were they in?

- That is in the basement section, thermal-insulated, isolated rooms to prevent them from remaining under 30-40 degrees. A decision was made to transfer them there, and I did what I was told until they resolved further issues. Later, they were moved to Martuni.

- Who and how entered the basement section and photographed them?

- I cannot say; I have not been in that section. Perhaps relatives, journalists—I really have not seen; I was not there at that time.

- Have you told your superior that these are not suitable conditions, that they need to be created before transferring new bodies?

- I leave it to you to make that analysis. I do not want to comment.

- Nikol Pashinyan announced yesterday that the government or the minister could not go around all the morgues to see what conditions the bodies are kept in, meaning they were not aware of the conditions in which you kept the bodies and remains?

- It is not like that; they could not have been unaware; they are very well informed about the morgue's saturation.

- The ministry initially clarified that conditions were normal; you say it is a basement thermal-insulated area. Now, say specifically, is that a suitable condition for storing bodies or not?

- It was an unforeseen, untenable situation; that needed to be done quickly at that moment. By the way, construction was underway; there is a foyer in that section; they were first there, but since construction work was ongoing, they had to be placed in a small room to be moved back to the larger hall later.

- Are there no other morgues that could have transported them from Metsamor, given that, as you say, the conditions in your institution are not appropriate?

- All were overloaded, and the proximity also played a role in why it was brought to Abovyan, so that they could solve these issues quickly.

- But it turned out Martuni is not overloaded; what was stopping the initial transfer to Martuni? Was it too far?

- I do not know; I really do not know what was stopping them; I cannot answer in their place.

- Was it not possible for you to place the bodies without stacking them on top of one another, at least to line them up on tables?

- There are not enough; can you imagine? There are only two gurneys in the entire morgue.

- Did you request this from your supervisor?

- I think it is not just about asking ... it was an unforeseen and untenable situation.

- You neither consider yourself guilty nor responsible, saying you did all possible means; it was an unforeseen situation...

- Absolutely.

- If that is the case, why were you dismissed from work?

- I hope the issue will be corrected.

- Will you be reinstated? But this is also a legal offense...

- I hope they will understand what the issue is. It was just a delicate matter; comments were made—one cannot say what, how... By the way, I agreed to be dismissed at my request. Let's conclude with this.