In Armenia, officer is accused of murdering a private

The Military Prosecutor's Office of Armenia has initiated a criminal case on the fact of a murder of Aram Mkrtchyan, 18, a regular soldier, who died as a result of beatings, rendered, according to the investigation, by an officer of the Vaiksk military unit.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Aram Mkrtchyan, aged 18, a private of the Vaiksk military unit, recruited to his mandatory service in spring this year, died in the morning on September 1 in the hospital, without coming to consciousness, from the beatings rendered by the platoon commander Andok Gasparyan. According to the relatives of the perished young soldier, Aram was three times beaten by Captain Gasparyan on August 28. Most of the blows were rendered on his head.

According to the data received from the Military Prosecutor's Office, Andok Gasparyan is kept there; he was presented a charge under part 2, Article 375, "Excess of Service Powers". Gasparyan has pled guilty; at the same time he asked to subject the casualty to medical examination in order to define whose blows were mortal. The relatives do not exclude that the private could be beaten by one more officer.