RA Prosecutor General overturns decision to dismiss criminal  prosecution against bodyguards of official 

ArmInfo. On May 27, 2026, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan overturned the decisions of September 20, 1999, to terminate criminal prosecution against Arsen Khachatryan and Armen Khachatryan, the bodyguards of Artsrun Margaryan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and National Security  of the Republic of Armenia. The decisions were overturned based on newly emerging circumstances and the findings of the Investigative  Committee.

The Prosecutor General recalled that in 1999, during the preliminary  investigation, Arsen and Armen Khachatryan were charged with the  murder of Artsrun Margaryan. However, the investigative body later  concluded that they had committed no crime and that Artsrun Margaryan  had committed suicide after attempting to kill his bodyguards. On  this basis, the criminal prosecution was terminated, and the murder  case was closed.

As part of a new criminal case, initiated in 2025, the case materials  were reviewed, additional investigative actions were conducted, and a  forensic medical examination was ordered. The new forensic medical  examination, received on March 31, 2026, concluded that as a result  of the severe gunshot wound to the chest sustained by Artsrun  Margaryan, his mobility would have been severely limited, making it  virtually impossible for him to perform any purposeful and  coordinated actions for a short period of time. According to the  expert, with such a wound, Artsrun Margaryan would have been  virtually unable to aim a gun at his own head and fire a fatal shot.

Considering that the investigation of newly emerged circumstances  revealed that Artsrun Margaryan, after being shot in the chest, was  unable to commit suicide, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan  overturned the relevant decisions of September 20, 1999.

The preliminary investigation into the criminal case is ongoing.

According to official data, Margaryan committed suicide on February  9, 1999, with a gunshot wound to the head and heart. That same year,  bodyguards Arsen and Armen Khachatryan, suspects in the murder, were  released after five months in prison.