“On October 7, one year will have passed when I wake up at 4 every night and can’t go back to sleep. It was that very hour that I took my newly born son and with my own hands put him to sleep in the grass.”

This is the statement of 21 year-old Anna Mkrtchyan. She has come out to publicly state that she killed her own baby, born out of a relationship of fear and intimidation

She said the same on August 23 at the ongoing trial of Azat Ghukasyan, the village mayor of Hartashen in the Goris district. Anna claims that Ghukasyan is the father of her child.

Ghukasyan is facing criminal charges for having lewd sexual relations with a 14 year-old girl in the school where Ghukasyan also teaches.

The young mother says that she had been waiting for months to publicly tell what happened to her.

“My life has turned upside down. The more time that passes, I feel more and more guilty regarding my child and I could no longer remain silent,” Anna says.

She says that many in Hartashen knew what had happened between her and Ghukasyan but that she wasn’t aware that she was expecting a child.

Anna says that her troubles started when she was in the ninth grade and was suspected of robbing a neighbor’s house. She claims that Ghukasyan called her into his office and promised to assist her. He then invited Anna to the police station where they would write her side of the story. Anna says that’s when their relationship began.

The young woman says that Ghukasyan always threatened her not to tell anyone of their meetings, otherwise he would see that she was jailed for the robbery.

Anna says that Ghukasyan didn’t allow her to have the child at the local hospital. So she gave birth at home. She claims that Ghukasyan told her to get rid of the baby, which she did with her own hands.

When I asked if she wasn’t scared of being accused of murder, Anna said her misfortune couldn’t get any worse.

“I will still be tortured for what I have done, whether in prison or at home,” Anna said.

As for the 14 year-old girl, the other plaintiff in the case, she isn’t going back to school. The girl says she can’t face her classmates.

Elmira, the girl’s mother, says the family will take the case to the highest court in the land if Ghukasyan is given a slap on the wrist.

The mother says that she’s been offered bribes to drop the case but that she’s determined to see justice done.

The last trial session on August 30 was postponed since Ghukasyan’s defense attorney withdrew his services.

The next session is scheduled for September 11.

Anzhela Margaryan