Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

According to the criminal case materials, blood sample was taken from the newborn on March 13, while he had died on March 12, 2016, in Austrian Children’s Hospital of Gyumri and had been buried on the same day.  

It is unclear what happened in reality and how RA Investigative Committee Shirak region department investigator Yu. Baghdasaryan took a blood sample from the newborn who had already been buried the day before. 

RA Investigative Committee Shirak regional department investigator Yu. Baghdasaryan initiated a criminal case on the fact of the newborn’s death on March 12 and made a decision to take a blood sample on March 13. Moreover, it is mentioned in the criminal case materials that blood sampling was carried out with the participation of witnesses. 

The materials also include the newborn’s death and burial certificates, where March 12 is mentioned as the day of death and burial. 

On December 18, 2019, based on the indubitable facts of violations and abuses by officials, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor made a crime report to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office. 

Let us remind that on March 11, 2016, Lianna Darbinyan delivered by Caesarean section in Gyumri Maternity Hospital and gave birth to a boy. The next day the child’s state sharply deteriorated. The Maternity Hospital’s staff quickly called the child’s father and informed that the child had to be transferred to  Austrian Children’s Hospital of Gyumri to connect to a respiratory apparatus. The child’s transfer was not managed in time and he died shortly after being transferred to hospital. The dead newborn’s parents claim that the cause of the child’s death was improper medical aid. They also have doubts that the dead infant was not theirs, he was replaced.  

It is mentioned in the protocol on blood sampling that on March 13, 2016, in the presence of witnesses Artur Avagyan, Karapet Hovhannisyan and with the participation of specialist Arshak Aleksanyan, blood sample of Liana Darbinyan’s newborn child was taken by a syringe, filled in a plastic container and sealed. The container had a note “newborn 13.03.16”. 

A question rises: if the blood sampling was carried out on March 13 and the newborn’s death certificate states that he died and was buried on March 12, then who was the infant buried on March 12?

It should also be mentioned that according to the list of materials of the case, criminal case materials are placed in chronological order and in the sequence of measures taken by the investigator.In particular, on page 16 of criminal case chapter 1, the protocol on  making a confiscation on March 12 is placed; on 17-21 pages, the protocol on interrogating the witness on March 12 is placed; on 21-22 pages, protocol documents on the decision of taking a blood sample from the newborn and the blood sampling of the newborn are placed. Therefore, there can be no technical problem or confusion regarding the chronological sequence of investigative actions by the investigator and dates of each action. Moreover, other documents of the criminal case also state March 13, 2016 as the date of taking a blood sample from the newborn. Hence, the only possible technical problem is also eliminated. 

Combining all the factual and legal conditions and based on the claims made by the dead newborn’s parents, violations and discrepancies raised, cases of hiding certain circumstances and avoiding clarifications by the bodies conducting the investigation, as well as several unsuccessful attempts to apply to various state bodies to find justice after the family tragedy described above,   HCA Vanadzor applied to the RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan to initiate a criminal case, to conduct a complete, objective and comprehensive investigation to find out the illegal actions by the body that investigated the case on the death of the newborn, disclose the truth, hold the perpetrators liable according to law, secure justice and ensure the protection of the rights of a human being as the highest value in the state governed by the rule of law.