Arbitrariness in Armenian army persists
YEREVAN – The Armenian Defense Ministry says four military personnel have been arrested in connection with another noncombat death in the army, Radio Liberty's Armenian Service reports.
Gevorg Kotinian, a 19-year-old conscript, was found dead on February 6 at an army unit stationed in the Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Military investigators say he was beaten to death by fellow soldiers.
The Defense Ministry's investigators said on February 11 that two of the arrested soldiers had been taken into custody and could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
A spokesman for the ministry's Investigative Service told Radio Liberty that their immediate commanders, a lieutenant and sergeant, have also been arrested. He said they were being accused of "inactivity" and abuse of power.
The deadly incident dealt a further blow to the military's assurances that it is combating army crime in earnest.
Still, human rights groups and the families of dead soldiers continue to assert that military authorities are not doing enough to tackle the problem.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!