Human rights activist Zaruhi Hovhannisyan has slammed the Deputy Chair of the Armenian Parliament’s Defence Committee, Armen Khachatryan, for attempting to downplay the responsibility of the authorities in the non-combat deaths of soldiers. 

‘In our civilian life, we have many suicides, we have many accidents. I don't know why you don’t talk about it, the reasons for those suicides’, Khachatryan said on Tuesday, in response to a question regarding the recent death of a soldier outside of combat. 

He suggested that everyone, including schools, kindergartens, the education ministry, and parents, were responsible for the poor upbringing of some of those who enter the military.

‘The problems existing in society are being expressed in the army in a condensed form’ said Khachatryan, noting that in the army they deal with many circumstances that are ‘a great source of danger.’ 

He also noted that nearly one person dies per day due to traffic accidents in Armenia.

On Wednesday, Hovhannisyan responded to these assessments, calling them ‘absolutely unacceptable’ in a post on Facebook. 

‘You have reached a position of power and you do not know the simple things. That is why there are huge gaps in all areas,’ wrote Hovhannisyan. 

‘In the army, prison, school, special care institutions, etc., a person is directly under the control of the state and the state is responsible for all deaths and accidents, and health problems’, she added.

Hovhannisyan also criticised the authorities for failing to reform the armed forces. She highlighted that while there were solutions, this was only possible if decision-makers ‘have some knowledge and try not to justify crimes, but to work towards finding solutions to the problems’.

Khachatryan, a former police officer who worked in the traffic department, has served as an MP for the ruling party since 2019. 

On 14 October, Khachatryan announced his nomination for the position of Justice Minister, after the ruling party pushed the previous minister to resign due to a conflict over his personnel policy. 

[Read more: Armenian Justice Minister resigns after photo surfaces of his deputy with Kocharyan’s daughter]

Over the past week, two cases of deaths within the Armenian military have been reported by the Ministry of Defence — one proceeding was initiated as a murder case while the other was judged a suicide.

The number of non-combat deaths in the armed forces has continued to rise in recent years, from 36 cases in 2018 to 53 in 2023, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

According to RFE/RL, there have been 28 non-combat deaths recorded so far this year. 

Armenia has compulsory military service of two years for male citizens aged 18–27.

In January, following the deaths of two servicemen on the same day during non-combat conditions, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed the Ministry of Defence to act to tackle the issue.