Armenia’s Investigative Committee (IC) has launched a criminal investigation of possible medical malpractice into the March 16 death of Artur Sargsyan, nicknamed ‘the bringer of bread’, this according to a Facebook post by Sona Trouzyan, an adviser to the president of the IC.

Sargsyan died yesterday at Yerevan’s Armenia Medical Center after being diagnosed with an abdominal hernia. He died a few hours after being operated on.

Artur Sargsyan, who was arrested and later released for bringing food to members of the armed Sasna Dzrer group who seized a Yerevan police building last July, staged a three week hunger strike after being detained in February of this year, allegedly for not appearing for a court date regarding his case.

Sargsyan’s death certificate specifies cardio-vascular failure and multiple organ failure as the cause of death.

Trouzyan writes that a forensic examination will be performed to clarify the circumstances of Sargsyan’s death, and that, at the request of his family, qualified third-party experts will be allowed to participate.