Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

European Court of Human Rights adopted two decisions against the Armenian government on November 24, Armenian service of Radio Liberty reported.

Regarding the case of serviceman Suren Muradyan, who died while serving in the occupied region of Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh in 2002, the Court ordered the Government of Armenia to allocate Muradyan’s family compensation in the amount of 50,000 Euros, recording that competent authorities had failed to conduct befitting investigation in order to call for those responsible for soldier’s death.

Furthermore, the Court recalled that in a recent leading case it had found that Armenia exercised effective control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. Armenia was therefore obliged to secure in that area the rights and freedoms set out in the European Convention.

Moreover, its responsibility under the Convention was not limited to the acts of its own soldiers or officials operating in Nagorno-Karabakh, but extended to the acts of the local administration which survived by virtue of the Armenian military and other support.

Consequently, the Court concluded that Suren Muradyan’s father’s complaints about the death of his son and the ensuing investigation fell within the jurisdiction of Armenia, thus engaging Armenia’s responsibility under the Convention.

The Court found in particular that the official explanation for Suren Muradyan’s fatal injury – a ruptured spleen– had not been plausible. While there had been sufficient evidence to suggest that Suren might have sustained that injury as a result of ill-treatment by high-ranking officers, neither the Karabakh nor the Armenian authorities had actively pursued that line of inquiry.

Suren Muradyan was drafted into the Armenian army in June 2001 and assigned to a military unit based in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. On or around July 24-25, 2002 he started to felt bad. Later his condition having deteriorated, on August 3, 2002, he was hospitalized with suspected malaria. The next day he suspiciously died. The results of a blood test the same day showed no trace of malaria.

Muradyan's father alleged that his son had died as a result of ill-treatment by his superiors as well as of the failure to provide him with adequate medical assistance. He also submitted that the authorities had failed to carry out an effective investigation into the incident; indeed they had even used the entire investigative machinery to make a false account of his son’s fatal injury look plausible.

The Court adopted another decision on the case of “Manucharyan against the government of Armenia".

The Court ordered the Government of Armenia to allocate 2,400 Euros. In 2009, Manucharyan was accused of the murder of Alaverdi Karen Sohakyan.

In turn, Manucharyan denied the charges and refused to testify.

However, the Regional Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to thirteen years in imprisonment.

The ECHR decided that the government of Armenia violated the right to a fair trial.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenian invaders from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s has become a nightmare for Armenian soldiers and their families.

According to the official statistics, 950 soldiers died in non-combat situations in the army since 1996, while these figures are more than 2,000 soldiers, according to unofficial statistics.

Hence, parents in Armenia refuse to send their children to serve in Nagorno-Karabakh. Parents do everything for their child not to serve in the army, where bribery is believed to be prevalent as well. Families try to arrange matters before their sons were entered into a lottery used to determine where they will serve. Some simply leave Armenia, while others commit suicide in case they don’t have enough money to escape from service.

Instead of taking a real care of its young soldiers, the Armenian Government is just seeking for ways to “rob” the population.

Recently the Armenian Parliament approved a bill on 1,000 drams, which served as a reason for protests among the population.

The essence of the law is that all the people who have suffered while serving in the Armed Forces of Armenia, fulfilling the will of the aggressive authorities and occupying lands from its real owner - Azerbaijan, will receive a small compensation for the crippled health and life.

The bill recently approved by the parliament obliges every working Armenian citizen to contribute 1,000 drams (about $2) per month to a special fund, "allocated" for solving the social problems of the families of killed or disabled soldiers.

The time shows that the European Court will receive more cases against the Armenian government, as the country still continues its aggressive domestic and foreign policy.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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