Two versions of one death

The Armenian diaspora is concerned about another murder of a fellow countryman

The Union of Armenians of Russia reported yesterday that a new crime on ethnic grounds was committed in the Moscow region. According to him, on November 11, not far from the Ivanteevka platform, skinheads killed a 15-year-old hairdressing college student, Narek Kocharyan. The prosecutor's office confirmed the fact of the teenager's murder, but noted that they do not have any information that nationalists could have been involved in the crime, and the first data from the investigation indicate a purely domestic nature of the emergency.

Nevertheless, the events in Ivanteevka attracted the attention of the Armenian authorities. Yesterday, Prime Minister of this country Andronik Margaryan told reporters that Yerevan hopes for a thorough investigation into the murder of Narek Kocharyan: “We cannot provide security for every Armenian in Russia. We also cannot send our law enforcement agencies to investigate the murders of Armenians in Russia. All we can do is officially send requests to the Russian side through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a request to ensure a thorough investigation into the murders that occurred, and also unofficially make similar requests during meetings with the Russian leadership."

According to the Ivanteevka prosecutor's office, the crime occurred at about 19.30 on Saturday. A group of young people, which included Narek Kocharyan, accompanied their comrade to his home in Ivanteevka. He was going to ask his parents to take another walk, but they did not let him go, since the young man was drunk. The company, according to investigators, was also tipsy. After this, the rest decided to return home to the neighboring village of Pervomaisky, where Narek also lived. Without waiting for the train, the friends walked along the tracks. On the way they split up - six people went ahead, and Narek and his friend were a little behind. On the way, they met a group of young people - about 15 people. Those walking in front passed it safely, but when they saw Kocharyan and his friend, two of the unknown people suddenly attacked them and began to beat them. Narek’s friend was able to escape, leaving his friend alone, and together with others went to Kocharyan’s parents for help. According to the prosecutor's office, his father arrived at the scene of the emergency only two hours later, but it was already too late. As determined by the ambulance doctors, Narek died from blood loss. 11 knife wounds were found on his body, but only two of them, in the back, were penetrating (the lung and spine were affected). According to the investigation, Kocharyan was killed with his own knife, which he probably took out to defend himself. The victim's phone and jacket were missing. “We are sure that these were not skinheads; we have never had them in our area. And according to the statements of the witnesses, they did not look like nationalists,” the prosecutor’s office noted. The Main Department of Internal Affairs of the Moscow Region also said: “Stop looking everywhere for a nationalist motive, it wasn’t there.” Based on the incident, a case was opened under Art. 111-4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death through negligence).

Meanwhile, the head of the Union of Armenians of Russia, Ara Abrahamyan, categorically disagreed with the official version of the investigation: “A new terrible tragedy has occurred. The young guy was brutally killed. We are sure that the attackers were skinheads. Next to the body was a Nazi scarf with a swastika. In addition, Kocharyan was strangled, but the prosecutor’s office says that he was simply stabbed to death. The father of the deceased was on the spot within 15 minutes and saw it all with his own eyes.”

Kirill MELNIKOV