Lieutenant-Colonel Ara Mkhitarian fell into a coma in September 2019 after arguing with an assistant to Trdat Sargsian, the then governor of Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province, in the provincial capital Yeghegnadzor in disputed circumstances. Mkhitarian never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on Thursday.
According to Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Mkhitarian was punched by Sargsian’s aide, Harutiun Grigorian, and fell to the ground. Grigorian was arrested and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison.
Mkhitarian’s family and friends dismissed the official version of events. They said that the officer and three of his colleagues were assaulted by a larger group of men that may have included Sargsian.
“How can you knock down a 120-kilogram guy and smash his skull with one punch?” the victim’s father, Samvel Mkhitarian, argued shortly after the incident.
The three other officers testified during the ensuing investigation that Sargsian, who is a senior member of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, was among the attackers. The Investigative Committee dismissed their claims and charged them with “false denunciation,” however. It said that Sargsian “was not at the site of the incident” when it happened.
Sargsian also strongly denied any involvement despite resigning as Vayots Dzor governor a week after the violence. He is now a member of the Armenian parliament.
His jailed aide’s lawyer, Levon Sahakian, on Friday blamed Mkhitarian and the other officers for the “fight.” He claimed that they were drunk and attacked his client.
It is not clear whether the officer’s death could lead the investigators to again examine the ex-governor’s possible role in the 2019 incident. Zhanna Aleksanian, a veteran human rights campaigner, said they must launch a fresh inquiry.
“I’m not sure that the [2019] investigation was objective and comprehensive,” Aleksanian said, adding that there may well have been a cover-up.
Some critics of the Armenian government have openly alleged that Pashinian saved his loyalist from prosecution. The premier has denied that.