A crime on illegalities in “Byureghavan Children's Care and Protection Boarding School” SNCO under RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs was reported to RA Prosecutor General with a request to initiate a criminal case and commission pre-investigation to Special Investigation Service. Transparency International Anticorruption Center NGO, civic initiative activists, members of monitoring group of special comprehensive education institutions joined the crime reporting.

It should be reminded that on April 4, a number of employees of the SNCO disseminated an open letter on unhealthy moral and psychological atmosphere in the institution, violence against children, financial misuse, abuse of her official position by SNCO director Gayane Margaryan and the patronage she enjoyed. Press and social media rapidly responded to it, paid visits to the institution and interviewed the employees and children.

According to those releases Gayane Margaryan, director of “Byureghavan Children's Care and Protection Boarding School” SNCO, used major violence, beating the children and reminding them of immoral conduct of their parents. Only one third of the allocated money was spent for the intended food, reports were submited on expenses of excursions, to which the children were not taken. The school-owned “Lada” car exploited by the director’s son Vahe Kocharyan, never served the school needs.

Though envisioned, the institution lacked some essential jobholders. Moreover, the director exploited employees in working hours, making them do her and her daughter-in-law’s housework. She registered 30 nonexistent employees and appropriated their salaries for herself. By keeping some bank cardholder’s cards by herself, on the day of salary payment she received the money and took the additional payment. The director’s accomplice was the institution’s economist Artur Ghalayan who held several positions on behalf of other people trying to benefit in every possible way.

Some complaints were sent to the Ministry against the director. Following the complaint, the Ministry employees went to the institution but they shut eyes to the problem and went away. The next day, after sending complaints to the Ministry, the director became aware of its content and exerted psychological pressure on the letter-writer. The director announced everywhere that she “got the go-ahead of the minister, the Republican Party of Armenia patronage her and she had bought the prosecutor’s office.”

Soon after the release, the letter was refuted by RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which can be found by the following link http://www.diplomat.am/news/2014-04-04-1037. Pressure was put on journalist of “Hetq.” After heated argument with the director, deputy director Larisa Mnatsakanyan had heart attack and did not go to school from that day on. There were meetings with the institution employees and children who certified the mentioned facts. Some employees who also certified the above mentioned, were interviewed by attorney Tigran Hayrapetyan, representative of the applicants.

Two days later deputy minister Berikyan visited the institution, held meeting with the employees and exerted pressure to confess who sent the letter. He certified during interview that they received complaints of the same content twice, however he did not reveal any violation of law. It may be by the instruction of Berikyan that the director imposed the teachers to sign under a document certifying that it was not they who had sent the letter. After the incident the children were bribed, and the latter refused whatever they told in recordings.

A question arises why the children denied what they had told earlier, and why they protected the director after Berikyan’s speaking with them. By applying RA prosecutor general, the crime reporters are certain that he could protect the children and not to allow them to become a tool in the hands of such kind of officials. In addition, though materials were prepared regarding the publications in media, no interrogation was conducted and the investigator did not even interview the employees.