YEREVAN -- Armenian police are investigating the death of a 30-year-old Russian border guard stationed in Armenia.
Arsen Karapetian, an ethnic Armenian, was found hanged in his half-constructed house in Yerevan on July 23.
His mother-in-law found the body.
Armenia’s Investigation Committee has not yet determined if Karapetian’s death was a suicide.
Karapetian’s brother-in-law said the border guard may have committed suicide because of problems connected to his work as a member of the border guard service, which is subordinate to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The relative said that Karapetian owed the equivalent of about $1,500 to a fellow serviceman.
He had been living with his in-laws while building his own house next door.
The brother-in-law told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the family tried taking out a loan to help Karapetian settle his debt.
"He was supposed to take the money to the military unit, because he had some problems there. Had he not brought the money with him, something bad would have happened to him there," the relative said.
It was not immediately possible to confirm the relative's allegations. No one at the FSB Border Guard’s press service answered RFE/RL's calls throughout July 24.
Naira Harutiunian, a spokeswoman for the Investigation Committee, said that forensic analyses have been ordered to further the investigation of the death.
In 2015, two ethnic Armenians in the Russian Border Guard Service committed suicide by hanging themselves.
The criminal cases launched into those incidents were eventually closed or suspended.
Ethnic Armenian In Russian Border Guard Service Found Hanged In Armenia
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking
2Attack From Afghanistan Kills Chinese National In Tajikistan, Sources Say
3U.S. Reportedly Allows Ukraine To Strike Russia With Long-Range Weapons
4UEFA To Rule After Kosovar Players Walk Off In Romania Amid Claims Of 'Racist' Chants
5RFE/RL Reveals Chilling New Details Of Bucha Massacre As Ukraine Marks 1,000 Days Of War
6No Smooth Sailing For Climate Activist Greta Thunberg In The Caucasus
7Putin Says Russia Fired New Intermediate Missile At Ukraine After ICBM Accusations
8Could U.S. Long-Range Missiles Tip The Balance In The Ukraine War?
9Wider Europe Briefing: Georgia's Vanishing EU Dreams
10Ukraine Live Briefing: Kyiv Says Moscow Used ICBM
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
