Illegal Sale of Newborn Discovered in Shirak Province: Criminal Case Initiated

Under the supervision of the Shirak regional prosecutor's office, operational and investigative measures conducted by the Shirak regional department of the Armenian police in the Kumayri division of Gyumri have uncovered evidence regarding the illegal sale of a newborn. On August 20, 2018, a resident of Gyumri sold her newborn child for 1,200,000 AMD to a married couple from Yerevan.

The investigation revealed reliable information indicating that a resident of Armavir province, born in 1992, was in a cohabitation relationship with a Gyumri resident born in 1989. While the father was in Russia, on August 20, 2018, the mother gave birth to a baby girl and falsely informed the father and mother-in-law that the child had died. Instead, she sold the child with the assistance of her mother for 1,200,000 AMD to a married couple living in Yerevan.

It was also discovered that the mother and the resident of Yerevan provided false information regarding paternity to the civil registry authorities, thus managing to register a false recognition of the child's paternity.

Considering the apparent signs of crimes such as the sale of a child for the purpose of care or surrendering the child to a caregiver, as well as providing false information to the civil registry authorities, the Shirak regional prosecutor’s office decided to initiate a criminal case under Article 168, Part 1, and Article 169.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The criminal case has been forwarded to the Shirak regional investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia for further investigation.