Video: Identification Process Complete, But Parents of Deceased Lack Strength to Bury Loved Ones, Says Avanesyan

In an interview with journalists, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan announced that there are still remains of servicemen who died in the 44-day war in morgues, which have been identified, yet their parents do not perform burial.

“Yes, unfortunately, we still have such cases where the identification has been completed, and even in cases of repeated tests, parents or relatives still do not find the strength to take them for burial. We understand that this is a painful, very difficult process. Both the Investigative Committee and other relevant bodies are working to bring this process to a conclusion as quickly as possible,” said Avanesyan.

She also noted that the process of DNA research and identification of remains has been completely finalized. “We had hard-to-analyze remains that were very decomposed, making it very difficult to extract DNA from them. We sent a little over 100 remains to the Netherlands, received their results, and this phase is also finished. At this moment, we can say that we have completely completed the identification process, and we currently do not have any samples under investigation,” Avanesyan stated.

However, she noted that there are remains for which identification is impossible. “They are archived separately,” Avanesyan said.

When asked how many bodies or remains are currently stored in morgues, the Health Minister refrained from answering. “I cannot provide a number. The relevant authority regarding total figures is the Investigative Committee; that is their jurisdiction, and I do not wish to assume such authority,” she said.

Anahit Avanesyan also assured that all morgues meet the necessary standards after renovations and are equipped with refrigerators, and that the painful image witnessed by the public in 2021, when the bodies of fallen servicemen were lying in bags on the ground, was “the result of specific employees' improper conduct.”