Why Has the Former Head of ‘Nubarashen’ Penitentiary Been Arrested? New Details

The apprehended individual Vahagn Abgaryan has led to the arrest of the former head of the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Justice ‘Nubarashen’ Penitentiary, S.M., based on materials prepared regarding the infliction of bodily harm at the penitentiary. He is suspected of committing acts stipulated in the first part of Article 308 and the first part of Article 314 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, under which, between July 25, 2019, and March 3, 2020, while holding the position of head of the ‘Nubarashen’ Penitentiary, he abused his official powers driven by personal interest and urged penitentiary staff to commit official forgery. This was reported by the Public Relations Department of the Special Investigative Service.

Specifically, factual data have been obtained in the criminal case indicating that on February 24, 2020, S.M. instructed the duty officer H.A., who was part of that day’s shift at the ‘Nubarashen’ penitentiary, to escort Vahagn Abgaryan to a room designated for meetings located in another building of the same penitentiary, to speak with some of the facility's sentenced individuals. Under the pretext of accompanying Abgaryan to the head of the penitentiary, he was taken out of his cell and escorted to the designated meeting room, where he was already expected by imprisoned individuals who had engaged in a dispute with him and inflicted injuries on various parts of his body, resulting in bodily harm characterized by light injuries.

During the pre-investigation, it was also revealed that in pursuit of group interests to obscure the actual incident of Vahagn Abgaryan sustaining bodily injury, penitentiary head S.M. urged H.A. and security specialist Z.P. to commit official forgery, specifically instructing them to draft a report addressed to him, falsely stating that Vahagn Abgaryan had slipped and fallen after leaving the toilet of his cell, which led to his injuries. As a result, Z.P., with the assistance of H.A., created a false report that did not correspond to reality, with the aforementioned content. The investigation of the criminal case is ongoing.