Acting Rector's Wife of the Physical Culture Institute Accused of Child Selling

The newspaper "Hraparak" reports: "The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan (Judge: Farhkoyan) has been examining a very strange case regarding the sale of a newborn for a considerable period. Spouses Armine S. and Gegham G., who reside in Yerevan, allegedly wanted to buy a child according to the indictment conclusion. The process of sale was organized by nurse Haykanush P. and a relative of the couple, who is also a nurse. The woman who was offered to sell her newborn was Vardik A., a resident of Ararat.

According to the official theory, the failed transaction was revealed thanks to the child's mother in July 2020. Supposedly, she went to the Ararat police and reported that she had sold her child. Vardik A., according to the case materials, gave birth in Yerevan and then sold her newborn daughter to the Yerevan-based spouses Armine and Gegham for 2,000 USD.

A criminal case has been initiated in the Ararat division of the RA police under Article 168 of the Criminal Code, which entered into force in 2003 (the procurement of a child for the purpose of custody or the sale of a child for the purpose of transferring the child to the custody of others). However, it is astonishing that Vardik A., who allegedly cooperated with the investigation, is charged with two articles, including Article 169 for disclosing the secret of child purchase and sale, or for inciting or coercing consent to adoption.

According to the official version, Vardik A. had agreed in advance with the staff of the medical institution to sell her child before giving birth, being 8 months pregnant. "According to the agreement, the resident of Ararat was admitted to one of the medical institutions in Yerevan, where she gave birth to a baby girl on July 8, 2020, and after being discharged from the medical institution on July 13, 2020, she handed over the child to the buyer, a resident of Yerevan," the Investigative Committee reported in a message distributed in July 2020.

Interestingly, despite the self-incriminating testimonies in the case, the trial has been stalled for 3 years. Four individuals are sitting in the defendant's chair: the couple, their supporting nurse relative, Haykanush P., who allegedly organized the sale, and Vardik A. from Ararat. They have only signed a document not to leave the country.

Haykanush P.'s lawyer, Alexander Sirunyan, informed us that his client has no connection to the sale transaction, asserting that no sale transaction has occurred at all. "Haykanush Piloyan has nothing to do with this transaction. When the woman from Ararat approached Haykanush, saying, 'I have several children, I cannot keep this one, I want to sell it,' the healthcare worker told her that large amounts are paid for child selling, but such a thing shouldn't be done, it would be better to give it for adoption, and if there are good people, let them adopt it. This has been the only fault of my client," says Sirunyan.

According to Sirunyan, it wasn’t a sale but rather an adoption. The man who adopted the girl has declared that the child is his, having been born from an extramarital relationship, acknowledged paternity, and took the child home. "The child is now in paradise. She lives in a well-off family, has everything, and most importantly, the love of her parents." What 2,000 dollars are being talked about? It turns out that the sale for 2,000 dollars is not substantiated in any way. The only monetary value is 50,000 drams, which the adopting couple suddenly remembered to take to the Ararat woman as a gift for her birthday.

The intriguing aspect of this story is that the doctor who managed Vardik A.'s pregnancy, Haykanush P., is the wife of Tigran Simonyan, the acting rector of the State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports of Armenia. This story also has a moral side. If the defendants are imprisoned, what will happen to the child, who is happy in a well-off Yerevan family? Will she be sent to an orphanage or handed over to the disadvantaged relatives of the woman from Ararat? The judge should also consider this before making a ruling."