CEDH · CASELAW;COMMUNICATEDCASES;ENG — 26 novembre 2024

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s379BC09C { margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s10950C61 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:14.2pt; text-align:justify } .s5E1364CA { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:14pt } .s339D85E6 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s665E407E { margin-top:66pt; margin-bottom:14pt; text-align:center; page-break-inside:avoid; page-break-after:avoid } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } Published on 16 December 2024   FIFTH SECTION Application no. 19153/20 Armine AVETISYAN against Armenia lodged on 9 March 2020 communicated on 26 November 2024 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE The case concerns the death of the applicant’s son, H. Grigoryan, during compulsory military service and the subsequent investigation. On 26 July 2017 H. Grigoryan was drafted into the Armenian army and assigned to military unit no.   38862 of the Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces (“the military unit”, situated in the “Republic of Nagorno ‑ Karabakh” (the “NKR”)). Between 4.25 and 4.45 p.m. on 27 January 2018 H. Grigoryan died from a gunshot injury to his forehead while performing watch duty at a military base guarded by the military unit. On the same date the Investigative Committee of Armenia instituted criminal proceedings under Article 373 § 3 (a breach of the rules for handling weapons that had led to the death of a person caused by negligence) of the former Criminal Code (in force until 1 July 2022). On 31 January 2018 A.C., a conscript on duty with H. Grigoryan on the day of the incident, was charged with breaching the rules on handling assault rifles which unintentionally caused H. Grigoryan’s death. According to the findings of the criminal investigation, on the day of the incident H. Grigoryan went to the neighbouring observation point where private A.C. was assigned for duty to ask him some questions since he could not read the instructions in Armenian and it was his first time on watch duty. During their conversation they had an argument concerning faith: H.   Grigoryan mentioned that he was not afraid of anything, including God. In order to scare him, A.C. grabbed the assault rifle assigned to H. Grigoryan, loaded it while the magazine was attached to the rifle, then detached the magazine and pressed the trigger causing his death. According to A.C.’s statements, he did not remember at that moment that despite the magazine having been detached from the rifle, there could still be a bullet inside from the previous load. According to the statements of six fellow servicemen who had been present at the military base on the day of the incident they had not witnessed the incident directly but had heard A.C. expressing remorse immediately after shooting H. Grigoryan which he had insisted to have happened by accident. H. Grigoryan and A.C. had never had any personal issues before. At the same time, several days before the incident the two of them had had another argument in relation to faith. One of the questioned servicemen stated that he had reported about that argument to the platoon commander Senior Lieutenant N.V. An internal investigation into H. Grigoryan’s death ordered by the Commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army (“the Commander”) found a number of shortcomings and violations of the internal rules concerning organisation of military service on the part of the commanding officers of the military unit at different levels, including poor supervision by N.V. and Junior Sergeant A.M. who was in charge of the base. The internal investigation also found that the requirements of the Commander’s order no.   832 of 12 December 2017 concerning an earlier incident which had taken place in the military unit on 11 December 2017 had not been fully implemented. Based on the results of the internal investigation the responsible officers were subjected to disciplinary penalties. A.C.’s request to conduct an expedited trial was granted despite the applicant’s objection. On 25 December 2018 the trial court (First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction of Syunik Region) found A.C. guilty as charged and sentenced him to six years of imprisonment. He was absolved from serving his punishment by application of an act of amnesty. The applicant disputed the judgment objecting against the classification of the crime (causing death by negligence as opposed to murder) as well as the application of an act of amnesty. She also claimed that the investigation had not been thorough as it had failed to elucidate several important circumstances surrounding her son’s death, including the extent to which poor supervision and discipline in the military unit had contributed to the fatal incident, whether the conscripts had been properly trained to handle assault rifles and so on. On 10 June 2019 the Criminal Court of Appeal dismissed the applicant’s appeal. On 1 October 2019 the Court of Cassation declared the applicant’s appeal on points of law inadmissible for lack of merit. The applicant complains under Article 2 of the Convention that the State failed to protect her son’s life during compulsory military service, that the investigation carried out by the domestic authorities into the matter was ineffective and that the punishment imposed on private A.C. was inadequate. QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES 1.     Do the matters complained of fall within the jurisdiction of Armenia within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?   2.     Was H. Grigoryan’s right to life, ensured by Article 2 of the Convention, violated in the present case?   3. Having regard to the procedural protection of the right to life, was the investigation by the domestic authorities in the present case in breach of the guarantees of Article 2 of the Convention?   The Government are invited to submit the copy of Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army Commander’s order no. 832 of 12 December 2017 concerning an incident which had taken place in the military unit on 11   December 2017.