Armenia’s Investigative Committee (IC) today reports that Armenian army soldier Aghasi Dallakyan committed suicide on October 13 after being harassed by officers and fellow soldiers in his unit.

Dallakyan’s body was found at a military base that day with a gunshot wound to his chin. The IC says the suspects have been arrested.

The IC, in September, stated that Armenian soldier Edgar Aleksanyan also committed suicide after being continuously humiliated and beaten by another soldier in his unit.

Harassment-based suicides within the Armenian military is an ongoing problem despite Armenian government claims that steps are being taken to reform the military.

The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor, in August, reported twenty-seven deaths within the Armenian military in the first half of 2024. Four were suicides and three were murder cases.

There were five suicides in the armed forces throughout 2023.

 While Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan vowed to tackle noncombat deaths in the army after he came to power in 2018, the problem remains.

“Deaths in the armed forces as a result of murder and suicide continue to be a serious challenge for the implementation of reforms in the armed forces,” writes the non-governmental human rights organization founded in 1998.