19-Year-Old Woman Agrees to Transfer Newborn to Acquaintances Instead of State Care

The Investigative Committee of Armenia's especially important cases has uncovered details regarding a situation involving a 45-year-old resident of Ejmiatsin and a 19-year-old woman from Hrazdan, who provided false information to the civil registry concerning the paternity of her newborn child.

According to the facts gathered during the investigation, the 19-year-old woman, being pregnant and faced with social, familial, and financial difficulties, decided to relinquish her parental rights after childbirth, leaving the child to the care of the state. Upon learning of her decision, her employer, who was aware that his acquaintances had been unable to have a child for many years, suggested that instead of leaving the child to state care, she could transfer the baby to his acquaintances, to which the woman agreed.

On the day following the child's birth, November 24, 2020, the woman and the 45-year-old man went to the Ejmiatsin branch of the civil registry agency to submit a request regarding the determination of paternity based on “joint, unilateral, or court ruling of the parents.” They were warned about the criminal liability under the Armenian Criminal Code for providing false information to the specified authority. Despite knowing that the 45-year-old man was not the biological father of the child, they submitted false information claiming that he was.

Based on this request, on the same day, the 45-year-old man acquired parental rights over the child and received a series of false documents, including a certificate acknowledging paternity and the child's state birth certificate. Following the accumulation of sufficient evidence, charges were filed against them under Article 169.1 of the Armenian Criminal Code, and a measure of restraint was imposed, prohibiting them from leaving. The pre-trial investigation has been completed, and the criminal case has been sent to the prosecuting attorney with a request for an indictment.