Two Lieutenant Colonels Suspected of False Reporting in Ara Mkrtchyan Case Have Had Their Powers Suspended

On August 24, under the chairmanship of Judge Gagik Poghosyan at the Criminal Court of Yerevan, the trial began regarding the false reporting made by three individuals related to the criminal case of Ara Mkrtchyan, an officer of the Armenian armed forces, who sustained serious injuries to the head on September 17, 2019, in the city of Yeghgnadzor. This was reported by aravot.am.

It is noteworthy that after remaining in a coma for four years, Ara Mkrtchyan passed away on July 23 of this year. His relatives claim that the violence against the lieutenant colonel involved the direct participation of Trdat Sargsyan, the head of the staff of the ruling Civil Contract party and a member of parliament, who has managed to evade criminal liability. Meanwhile, the assistant of Sargsyan at that time is currently in custody related to the case.

According to a statement from the investigative committee, on September 17, 2019, around 11:40 p.m., a group altercation occurred in the yard of building 5 on Arsenyan Street in Yeghgnadzor, during which Ara Mkrtchyan was seriously injured in the brain. This incident was investigated under the characteristics of the 1st part of Article 112 of the former Criminal Code of Armenia. Three military personnel who witnessed the incident, L.H., M.M., and M.H., provided testimony and later maintained during confrontation questioning that Zaven Grigoryan, alongside Harutyun Grigoryan and other individuals, delivered multiple blows to Ara Mkrtchyan’s head using their hands, feet, and an unidentified object, deliberately inflicting life-threatening serious harm to his health.

On October 2, 2019, Zaven Grigoryan was arrested on suspicion of committing a socially dangerous act under the 6th point of the 2nd part of Article 112 of the former Criminal Code of Armenia, and the following day he was charged under the same article. On July 17, 2021, the criminal proceedings were initiated against Harutyun Grigoryan, the brother of Zaven Grigoryan, who was charged under the 6th point of the 2nd part of Article 112 and Article 118 of the former Criminal Code.

For the three defendants, including one woman, a preventive measure of prohibiting absence was applied. Also, the powers of Lieutenant Colonels Levon Harutyunyan and Mkhtiar Melkonyan were suspended.