Robert Shot Himself Fatally to Avoid Captivity: Norikyan

Robert shot himself fatally to avoid captivity. This was reported by lawyer Norair Norikyan on his Facebook page, sharing the story of a soldier:

“Dear friends, I am truly at a loss on how to present the tragic yet heroic odyssey of this bright young man, Robert. I am deeply convinced that our true essence is embodied in Robert, a youth who lived only 18 years.

Robert Armen’s Gevorgyan was drafted for mandatory military service in the RA Ministry of Defense N military unit on June 27, 2022. During the period from September 13 to 14, 2022, as a result of combat operations unleashed by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Syunik region, he found himself engaged in combat actions in a combat position just two and a half months into his service, despite the fact that as a soldier under six months, he was not supposed to be involved in combat operations.

But the circumstances of his death are even more tragic and heroic. For understandable reasons, I cannot elaborate on this issue at this time, but I must note that after suffering severe gunshot wounds and essentially being surrounded, Robert shot himself fatally to avoid captivity.

Currently, a criminal case has been initiated under the third part of Article 549 of the RA Criminal Code in the RA Anti-Corruption Committee, and a preliminary investigation is underway.

I am the authorized representative of Robert's parents. In the near future, there will be an opportunity to provide more detailed commentary on this criminal case and its progress.

I am deeply convinced that as long as we tolerate even minor crimes and violations in the armed forces, as long as the institute of accountability is not fully operational within the armed forces, and as long as no one is held accountable for their actions, unfortunately, we will not be protected from such tragedies.

We need to correct our behavior, and we must wake up... We must be intolerant of impunity, irresponsibility, criminality, and lawlessness.

In our country, the law must work for everyone, and a criminal must be punished, regardless of who they are.

My deepest respect to your bright memory, strong boy...”