Boris Avagyan's Body to be Sent for Forensic Examination, Russian Law Enforcement Says

The body of Boris Avagyan, a former official of "Rosimushchestvo," who was found dead on Wednesday in the building of the Armenian consulate in St. Petersburg, is currently in the morgue and will be sent for forensic examination. This was reported by representatives of law enforcement agencies to "RIA Novosti."

According to the agency's source, "Avagyan's body is in the morgue, and a forensic examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death." As previously reported, the politician from Artsakh, Boris Avagyan, was found dead in the Armenian consulate building in St. Petersburg. According to the preliminary version from Russian law enforcement, he allegedly committed suicide.

Avagyan had been accused of evading customs duties. According to Russian media reports, just hours before his suicide, the former official fled from court under the pretext of "going out to smoke" and hid in the Armenian consulate. He expressed a desire to be extradited to Armenia for questioning and to stand trial.

Boris Avagyan served as a special representative of the President of the Republic of Artsakh during Araik Harutyunyan's administration. He was known for his active public stance, notably criticizing the Armenian authorities regarding the issue of prisoners of war in 2021, which led to his dismissal from the position of head of the Artsakh Emergency Situations Service. Another scandal also erupted around Avagyan when he accused international organizations, such as HALO Trust, of passing minefield maps to Azerbaijani intelligence services; however, the organization denied these allegations.