Armenia loses case at the ECHR: shocking details of a soldier’s death in “NKR” prison

Contents

The Tragic Fate of G. Movsesyan From Discharge to Imprisonment Conviction and Mysterious Death in Prison ECHR Ruling Against Armenia A Pattern of ECHR Losses for Armenia

Amid accusations of alleged unfair trials and mistreatment of former officials of the unrecognized “NKR” currently on trial in Baku, Armenia has lost a case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning the unpunished death of its citizen in an “NKR” prison. The case in question, “Egine Petrosyan v. Armenia” (No. 51448/15), was filed in relation to the death of her son, G. Movsesyan, who was conscripted in Armenia but sent to serve in Karabakh.

It is worth recalling that at the time, and even later, Armenia tried to convince the world that “its army was not present in Nagorno-Karabakh” and that Azerbaijani forces at the line of contact were allegedly facing only Karabakh Armenians. However, frequent deaths of Armenian conscripts on the occupied territory of Azerbaijan shattered this myth, particularly due to the uncompromising stance of the deceased soldiers’ relatives.

The Tragic Fate of G. Movsesyan

Petrosyan’s 18-year-old son was drafted into the Armenian army in 2011, a relatively peaceful period. The military recruitment office deemed him fit for service, identifying only circulation issues. However, subsequent events revealed that military doctors severely underestimated his health problems.

From the very first days of service, Movsesyan refused to wear a uniform and carry out his duties, repeatedly stating that his nervous system could not withstand the army environment. He even expressed that he would rather be imprisoned than serve.

On June 27, 2011, he fled his unit. When he was caught and returned, he had a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide by slashing his left forearm with a razor blade. He was given first aid and hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of the Yerevan military hospital. A month later, a military medical board diagnosed him with “organic psychopathic disorder and maladaptive decompensation with suicidal tendencies”.

By August, he was declared unfit for military service in peacetime but fit for non-combat service in wartime. Since Armenia was “not officially at war,” he was discharged from the army on September 28, 2011, by order of the Armenian Minister of Defense.

From Discharge to Imprisonment

However, his ordeal did not end there. Instead of returning home for treatment, a criminal case was initiated against him. The Third Garrison Investigative Department of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, strangely located in Agdere (Martakert), in the so-called “NKR”, had already opened a criminal case on July 7, 2011, accusing him of desertion—despite his official discharge due to medical reasons.

On August 3, he was formally charged and placed under a travel ban. However, on September 14, as his discharge was being processed, these charges were dropped due to a lack of criminal elements.

Yet, in a shocking turn, on November 29, he was charged again, this time for self-inflicted injury to evade military service.

By December 6, an indictment was prepared, relying on testimonies from his commander and other servicemen from Unit No. 49971. Military doctors argued that Movsesyan had no prior psychiatric conditions before enlistment and that his disorder developed during service due to stress, personal characteristics, and failure to adapt. However, they claimed it did not impair his ability to understand his actions.

Movsesyan, on the other hand, insisted that his nervous system could not cope with service conditions, making him prone to uncontrollable outbursts. His concerns were ignored.

The indictment, related to events in “NKR,” was transferred to the Syunik Regional Court of Armenia, which approved his detention and issued an arrest warrant.

Six months later, on July 20, 2012, Movsesyan was arrested at Yerevan airport and detained in the “Nubarashen” pre-trial detention center in Armenia. By September 10, he was transferred to the “NKR Police” detention center in Shusha.

Conviction and Mysterious Death in Prison

On November 20, he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.

Just a week later, on the night of November 28, 2012, a prison guard found him hanged in his cell. He was suspended from a pole in the window bars with a bedsheet.

Two forensic examinations concluded that he died from mechanical asphyxia due to hanging. There was a non-fatal injury on his right forearm, but no suicide note was found. His personal belongings contained only a copy of the verdict and some self-written poems.

The prison guard reported that he found the body within 6-7 minutes but could not unlock the cell door as the guards did not have the keys. Instead, he started shouting to wake up other inmates.

Movsesyan was still alive when removed from the noose, but the ambulance crew pronounced him dead upon arrival.

All eight cellmates claimed they heard nothing, only waking up to the guard’s shouting. They described him as a loner who behaved oddly, often sitting against the wall, lost in thought, and repeatedly complaining about his unlawful conviction. The prison warden confirmed that after the verdict, Movsesyan was angry and bitter, particularly against the prosecutor and judge.

Ironically, he had scheduled a meeting with the warden for the morning of November 28 to discuss appealing his conviction, but he hanged himself instead.

ECHR Ruling Against Armenia

The investigation and legal proceedings dragged on until March 20, 2015, but many questions remained unanswered. The authorities ultimately cleared the guards, cellmates, doctors, and investigators of any wrongdoing, and the case was closed due to Movsesyan’s death.

Having exhausted all legal options in Armenia, on October 2, 2015, Petrosyan filed a case at the ECHR, citing violations of Article 2 (Right to Life) and Article 13 (Right to an Effective Remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

During the case’s deliberation, the Armenian government attempted to withdraw it by making a unilateral declaration, offering compensation but without committing to reinvestigate the case. The ECHR rejected this move and proceeded with the case.

In its ruling, the ECHR reaffirmed Armenia’s jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh at the time. It found that the investigation into Movsesyan’s death was inadequate and failed to establish accountability.

Armenia was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for his death, leading the ECHR to conclude that Article 2 had been violated both procedurally and substantively.

Regarding Article 13, the ECHR noted that there was no effective mechanism in Armenia to hold authorities accountable for such violations. Furthermore, the proposed compensation was deemed insufficient.

As a result, the ECHR ordered Armenia to pay Petrosyan €50,000 in moral damages.