YEREVAN. - Criminal case has been launched into the murder of the Armenian soldier Karen Akulyan by the Azerbaijani sniper today.

The case has been launched on the ground of national, racial and religious hatred, Armenia’s Investigative Committee reports.  

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army serviceman Karen Akulyan (born in 1997) sustained a fatal gunshot wound at around 1pm, at a protection area of a Defense Army unit, and as a result of sniper fire by Azerbaijan.