issued by the Registrar of the Court
ECHR 123 (2023)
25.04.2023
Judgments of 25 April 2023
The European Court of Human Rights has today given notification in writing of one Chamber
judgment1 which is summarised below.
This judgment is available only in English.
Ohanjanyan v. Armenia (application no. 70665/11)
The applicant, Suren Ohanjanyan, now deceased, was an Armenian national who was born in 1953
and lived in Yerevan. His widow has continued the application in his stead.
The case concerns the death of the applicant’s son, T. Ohanjanyan, in 2007 during his compulsory
military service. The official reason for the death was electrocution through his accidentally touching
the guy wires of a radio relay station antenna mast, which was not earthed properly. The
investigation was, however, still ongoing as of January 2022.
Relying on Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicant
strongly disputes the electrocution hypothesis, and complains that the authorities failed to provide a
plausible explanation for or properly investigate the death of his son. He believes that his son was
murdered, and alleges that the authorities failed to properly examine photographs of the corpse
that show signs of ill-treatment, including missing teeth and burn marks.
Violation of Article 2 (right to life and investigation)
Just satisfaction:
to the applicant’s widow:
non-pecuniary damage: 50,000 euros (EUR)
costs and expenses: EUR 44
This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,
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1
Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a judgment’s
delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel of five
judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a final
judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,
judgments delivered by a Committee are final.
Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.
Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution.
