36-Year-Old Citizen Kidnapped, Subjected to Violence, Forced to Settle Debt

The details surrounding the kidnapping of a 36-year-old resident of Yerevan by four individuals from Tavush Province have been uncovered. The investigation conducted by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has established that a 49-year-old resident of Tavush, M.M., along with a group of individuals including his brother, a 53-year-old resident of the same province, A.M., A.M.'s 27-year-old son, Y.M., and A.M.'s friend, T.H., planned the abduction in advance, applying violence dangerous to health.

They kidnapped their acquaintance, A.H., a 36-year-old resident of Yerevan, unlawfully transporting him against his will to another location while threatening him with violence, causing significant damage to the victim's rights and legal interests.

Specifically, it has been revealed that back in May 2020, M.M. had provided the aforementioned resident of Yerevan with various goods worth approximately 230,000 Armenian Drams, under the condition that he would sell them and pay the amount later. However, he failed to pay this sum, citing the reason that the goods had not been sold, which led to disagreements among acquaintances.

During this time, M.M. repeatedly called and demanded both the debt and the interest he added, threatening to take the 'Lada Priora' car belonging to the debtor if he did not pay. However, the debtor did not settle the debt within the stipulated time. Subsequently, the creditor, M.M., along with his friends, brother, and his brother's son, conspired to abduct A.H. by force.

Upon learning that A.H. was located in Tavush Province, M.M. drove to meet him on August 20, 2020, around 4:00 PM, accompanied by the mentioned individuals, and demanded his money. He then attempted to take back mobile phone accessories from A.H.'s car, but A.H. did not allow him to do so.

Afterward, the group members blocked A.H.'s car and all possible escape routes, using physical violence to forcibly abduct him, pushing him into one of their cars and taking him to a gas station along the road to Ptghavan village.

After transporting A.H. to a room at the gas station, several individuals struck A.H. on different parts of his body using a plastic bottle filled with ice, continuing their assaults even after he fell to the ground. They then demanded the keys to his 'Lada Priora' vehicle, but he refused, resulting in more blows to various parts of his body.

Continuing their criminal actions, the group threatened A.H. with violence, unlawfully seizing the 16,000 AMD he had in his wallet instead of obtaining the 230,000 AMD owed through legal means. Under the threat of violence and realizing that he was being held against his will, A.H. had no choice but to comply with the illegal demands of the group, emptying at least 634,800 AMD worth of mobile phone accessories from his car and handing them over to M.M. After this, he was allowed to leave and requested to be permitted to leave the site, which he was granted.

Based on the gathered evidence, the aforementioned four individuals have been charged under Article 131, Parts 2, Subsections 1 and 2 of the former Criminal Code of Armenia (kidnapping a person by a group with premeditated agreement using or threatening violence dangerous to life or health) and Article 322, Part 2 (self-justice through violence or threats thereof). The preliminary investigation has concluded, and the case materials against these four individuals have been sent to court with a prosecution conclusion.