Brother of Deceased Contract Soldier Claims He Was Shot Three Times and Brutally Beaten

Relatives of 29-year-old contract soldier Gevorg Avetian, who died on November 16 in Jambarak, assert that he was brutally beaten and killed. In an interview with NEWS.am, Gevorg's brother, Gurgen Avetian, dismissed the Ministry of Defense's statement claiming his brother died due to mishandling of a weapon.

“The Ministry of Defense states that my brother died because of negligent handling of a weapon, but there are 3 gunshots on him: one in the heart area, another in the stomach and belly area. They left him starving for days; he was a cook, preparing meals, but his portion was given to the dogs. He was severely beaten, with numerous bruises all over his head, neck, side, arm, and back. They killed my brother; how could he shoot himself or beat himself?” said Gurgen.

Gurgen Avetian narrated that two days before ascending to their positions, Gevorg was brought to an eye examination at a hospital in Yerevan, at which time he admitted having a conflict with his fellow servicemen, but claimed the conflict had been resolved. “But evidently, it was not resolved. He was afraid to tell us,” Gurgen recounted. “We hadn’t even seen his salary for a long time; he said it was for a loan or something, then we found out he hadn’t received his salary, someone else had collected it using his card, and we don’t know who it was.”

Gurgen also reported that a criminal case has been initiated regarding the incident, and Gevorg Avetian's fellow servicemen, Agasi Saribekyan and Artak Apreseyan, both contract soldiers stationed at the same position, have been arrested. The Armenian Investigative Committee has informed the media that one person has been arrested in connection with the case, with further details to be provided later.

Previously, the Ministry of Defense had stated that contract soldier, Private Gevorg Khachatur Avetian (born 1992) was injured due to a violation of weapon handling rules on November 15, was transferred to the hospital, and died a day later, on November 16.