After struggling for more than two years the parents of a deceased soldier have managed to get the court to reject the theory of their son’s deadly electrocution through two officers’ negligence and send the case back to the military prosecutor’s office. They continue to suspect premeditated murder and a high-level cover-up and hope additional inquiry will shed more light on the case.

Tigran Ohanjanyan, a conscript of the Armenian army, died on August 30, 2007, in military unit 28-418 situated in the village of Karchaghbyur of the Gegharkunik region. Captain Rustam Asatryan and warrant officer Karen Tovmasyan, charged with showing negligent attitude in their service, were cleared of the charges because of “ungrounded evidence”. The two faced 3 to 6 year in prison if found guilty.

According to the materials of the criminal case, at about 11:00 pm that day private Ohanjanyan left the military unit and was killed by electrocution when he touched a cable near a communications antenna.

Forensic experts concluded in October that only 30 volts passed through the territory, which cannot kill a human being. (The dead soldier’s family, meanwhile, have claimed premeditated murder and a subsequent high-level cover-up, but find it difficult to name the motives).

“We were very surprised when the judge read out the verdict, since they have always worked against us and tried to hide the fact of murder. Even now we do not completely believe it and do not exclude that the prosecutor will protest the decision at an appeals court,” said the deceased soldier’s father.