Military serviceman Harutyun Hambaryan died when he was on duty
14:28, May 14, 2015 | News, Own newsYesterday on May 12, the HCA Vanadzor staff visited the family of military serviceman Harutyun Hambaryan who had deceased on May 8, 2015. Harutyun died at the military unit called ‘Internat’ in the NKR Martakert region. He served in the anti-aircraft defense troops. The mass media informed that the RA Third Garrison Investigation Department under the RA Investigation Committee General Military Investigation Department initiated a criminal case on the death of the serviceman under Article 110(1) (causing somebody to commit suicide or make an attempt at a suicide by indirect willfulness or by negligence, by means of threat, cruel treatment or regular humiliation of one’s dignity) of the RA Criminal Code. While talking to H. Hambaryan’s family, the HCA Vanadzor staff learnt that on the day before the incident, on May 7, 2015, at about 6:00 pm, Harutyun had a phone talk with his elder sister Hasmik Hambaryan. His mood was very good. He asked Hasmik about their parents and learning that they were engaged in their spring sowing works, he said as follows, “Let them wait a little bit, I’ll come back soon and do this work next time for them.” According to Harutyun’s father, Hrayr Hambaryan, on the day of the incident, their all family had been away from the early morning (they had gone to their plot to plant some potatoe). They had not returned home until about 7 pm. They first learnt about the incident from the newsfeed during the ‘Zham’ news broadcast on Armenia TV at 8 pm. According to H, Hambaryan’s father, Harutyun’s surname mentioned in the newsfeed contained a spelling error; namely it was written Ghambaryan instead of Hambaryan, and this somewhat eased the anxiety of the family. However, some 10 minutes later, a military registration and enlistment office employee informed Harutyun’s father that his son “had been wounded and was transferred to Yerevan.” Meanwhile, Harutyun’s sister said that she had already learnt from the Internet that “Harutyun had been fatally wounded.” At Harutyun’s funeral, one of his fellow servicemen told his parents that the incident occurred when Harutyun was on combat duty at the combat post. However, according to his sister, the combat post was some 7 km far from the forefront. Harutyun Hambaryan’s combat duty had been assigned on May 8, 2015, from 2 pm to 4 pm, and the incident occurred at 3:10 pm, as reported by the media. A fellow serviceman of Harutyun told his family that in the morning, Harutyun washed his head, shaved the hair on the back of his neck, dressed neatly (as usual) and went out for his service. Another fellow serviceman of Haruytun told his relatives that at the moment of the incident, a fellow serviceman stood at a distance of some 30 meters from Hartyun (according to information provided to Harutyun’s sister, there were 2 persons there, one of whom was unable to speak due to the stress he suffered and was later transferred to the military hospital). A friend of Harutyun told his father Hrayr that at about 3:10 pm a fellow serviceman, who stood near Harutyun at the moment of the incident, noticed something strange and asked Harutyun, “Harut, what are you doing over there?” The answer was, “Nothing”. Then he heard the shot and rushed to Harutyun’s help. One of Harutyun’s friends told his parents that he had not seen what had happened and only learnt about the incident when he heard a noise and saw the ambulance vehicle. Harutyun’s family told the HCA Vanadzor staff that in Martakert, some people allegedly talked that the cause of his death was uncertain. In other words, it was not clear at once whether his death was caused by suicide. And on the following day, the Third Garrison Investigation Department of the General Military Investigative Department, RA Investigation Committee, initiated a criminal case under the article on causing somebody to commit suicide. According to Harutyun’s father, some of his family members and friends also attended the autopsy. “Harutyun received a gunshot wound in the upper forehead area”, said his sister. Harutyun was short-sighted and wore optical glasses. Harutyun’s corpse lay with his face down, and the glasses were broken to small pieces. According to Harutyun’s sister, he was always pleased with his military service and its location as the combat post was quite far from the forefront. Harutyun also used to say that it was relatively easier to serve in the anti-aircraft defense troops. And he served there as he was good at calculations and drawings. According to Hasmik, the commanders were always pleased with Harutyun’s service. The serviceman’s sister also said that on the very day of his conscription, Harutyun was running temperature up to 40°C due to the vaccination he had received before. He spent a day at the military unit and was then transferred to the military hospital in Stepanakert where he stayed 10 days. Hasmik, who is a physician (endocrinologist and an ambulance doctor) mentioned that her brother had developed bronchitis and lung inflammation and had swollen tonsils. At the same time, Hasmik noted that later Harutyun fully recovered and even got stronger, “After coming home for his leave, Harut was perfectly healthy, and we all noticed that he had changed a lot, matured and became more serious and balanced.” During his military service, Harutyun came home for leave once, and in July 2014 his family visited him twice. According to his sister Hasmik, Harutyun was a very cheerful young man. He was a big fan of football and used to ask her to write down the scores of football matches and every time they talked on the phone asked about the outcomes of the recent matches with a great enthusiasm. Even two days before the incident, Harutyun asked his sister to carefully follow the football matches and keep in mind the score, so that she could tell him about the outcomes during their next phone talk. Harutyun’s all family members and fellow villagers are sure that a cheerful and well-balanced person like Harutyun who cared about his parents so much could not just commit suicide. Harutyun’s father also mentioned that his son even had no beloved girl for whom he might have taken such a step. Harutyun Hambaryan was a student at the Land Management and Land Cadastre Faculty of the Agrarian University of Armenia. On January 13, 2014, he was called up for his military service. He would have completed his service in 8 month.