The Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has issued the following statement on the case of a resident of Karmir Shuka village setting himself on fire.

“On March 21, 2021, the on-duty police officers of Martuni region of Artsakh received a report stating that resident of Karmir Shuka village of the same region had left his house the previous day and hadn’t returned. After search efforts, police officers found the burnt body of the resident in the administrative territory of the village.

The Investigative Committee of Artsakh has launched a criminal case under the elements of incitement to suicide, and preliminary investigation is underway.

According to preliminary data, during the past few weeks, the resident was in a state of depression, would come home late, took the death of his nephew in the war unleashed against Artsakh in September 2020 hard and had become irritable after watching a video of the deceased nephew on television.

Taking into consideration the various commentaries regarding this incident that have been presented through mass media outlets, the Prosecutor General’s Office assures that it will set forth and examine all the possible versions during the preliminary investigation and will provide further information about the results of the investigation. However, before the end of the pre-trial proceedings, the Prosecutor General’s Office asks and urges everyone to not disseminate information or personal comments about the incident that are not confirmed based on the results of investigative and other procedural actions and may cause panic and concern among the public.”