Friday, January 7, 2011

New Year's Present, Armenian Banditocracy Style: A Broken Skull, Unconsciousness and Under Investigation for Hooliganism

It seems that in Ijevan, New Years was 'celebrated' in a way that perhaps was the most appropriate, unfortunately, for Armenia these days. Apparently two young men from a nearby vlllage, Taron Yengibaryan and Ashot Ulikhanyan, went to visit their friend serving at the military station in Ijevan late December 31, 2010. According to Yengibaryan's grandfather, Colonel Sergei Karapetyan confronted them, and an argument ensued (perhaps more?). Karapetyan verbally abused them, and fired shots at their car when they tried to drive away. He then apparently had them taken to his office, where he continued to fire shots at the walls.

Fearing for their lives, they jumped out of the second story windows. The other youth, Ulikhanyan presumably, has a broken leg. Yangibaryan has a fracture skull, and has been unconscious for the past week in the Intensive Care Unit at Yerevan's Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center. Karapetyan was apparently injured as well.

It seems quite unclear to me what actually happened, how things got to where they did. Perhaps what has been reported so far is the full and accurate story, perhaps there is more, There usually is more to the story, An investigation is pending, and a Defense Ministry spokesman has warned against early 'biased interpretations.'

I agree that a full, unbiased investigation is needed (though they are an endangered if not extinct species in Armenia for the past many years), and that we shouldnt jump to conclusions. But I can't think of much that would justify two youths being so badly injured, perhaps lethally in one case. The story would have to get turned on its head completely in numerous ways for me to think that perhaps there was some element of self defense or justifiability.

To top it all off, the youths are being investigated for hooliganism.

Happy New Year, Courtesy of Armenia's Banditocracy.

RFE/RL articles (English, Armenian)

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