Activities | Rights | Right to Freedom from Torture | News
The cases of death of servicemen in non-combat conditions continue in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. In particular, during the years 2020-2024, 362 servicemen died in the Armed forces, about 80 percent of them, that is 289 persons in non-combat conditions. During a discussion on “The State of Protection of the Absolute Right to Be Free from Torture and Degrading Treatment in Armenia. Is Impunity Being Overcome?” Nazeli Movsesyan, the coordinator of the Department of Oversight of Defence and Security Sector, talked about these issues.
According to her, the cause of death of 79 servicemen out of 289 was suicide and murder. Nazeli Movsesyan stated that the inefficient steps the state took led to repeating such cases. The next problem refers to the conscripts with health problems. She said that during the last 5 years, 76 death cases of servicemen were recorded due to health problems. In the case of servicemen, during the conscription, proper examinations are generally not carried out, which leads to the death of the servicemen. “If we talk about the recommendations referred to the Government of the Republic of Armenia made by the Committee of the Ministers of the European Council regarding the tortures in the Armed forces, I consider it important to mention that as a result of the study of many years, it becomes clear that investigation of violation cases of torture and right to life takes a very long time. The level of efficiency of the investigation is not very high as the investigation of cases either are dismissed or terminated,” she said.