Former Head of Armenian National Security (2016-2018) Found Shot in His House

The body of the former head of Armenian National Security Service Georgi Kutoyan was found shot in his apartment today in the afternoon.

His body was found by his wife, near the body there was a gun and an empty bottle of Cognac.

38-year-old Kutoyan was one of the most loyal and trusted assistants of Serzh Sargsyan. He started his career as assistant at the Presidential Administration at the age of 30.  Five years later, President Serzh Sargsyan (2008-2018) appointed him as Head of the Security Service. Although there were some juridical barriers to be appointed to this position, because he was not a National Security Servicemen, Sargsyan made some moves to be able to appoint Kutoyan to the post.

During his rule as the Head of the National Security Service, a group of gunmen attacked the biggest police base in Yerevan in July 2019 and kept it for several days.

Kutoyan left office after the Velvet Revolution in 2018 and since then has remained silent, never appearing in public.

However, this is regarded as a continuation of the “suspicious passings” of former heads of the power structures. In September 2019, the former head of the police of Armenia 2003-2008, Hayk Harutyunyan, was found shot in his house; two months later, in November, the former head of the police of Yerevan 2013-2016 died in Moscow because of an explosion. Now, many people are discussing the cases on social media and see Kutoyan a part of these suspicious deaths.

By Karen Tovmasyan