Vice-president of Armenian Eagles: United Armenia party dies in prison

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Mher Yeghiazaryan, the arrested Vice President of the Armenian Eagles: United Armenia political party, has died in prison, the Department of Corrections said.

It said that the man died as a result of “abrupt deterioration of health” shortly after 6 o’clock Saturday morning.

An ambulance was called in at 06:15, and Yeghiazaryan was pronounced dead at 06:35.

Yeghiazaryan was arrested in December 2018 in suspicion of racketeering.

The Department of Corrections said an investigation is underway and an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

Authorities said he has extorted various amounts of money, ranging from 370$ up to 10,000 dollars, from several citizens, including military servicemen, with the pretext of forwarding the money as a bribe for different reasons, including for career promotion, employment, and solving various tupes of other issues.

Yeghyazaryan operated the scheme from 2014 to 2018, the National Security Service said.

He denied wrongdoing.

On December 5, he released a statement from jail saying that he is beginning a hunger strike.

He was also in charge of an online media website, Haynews.am.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan