Servicemen became scapegoats
All the five accused charged with the death of lieutenant Artak Nazaryan have become scapegoats. The real criminal is still at large, Ruben Martirosyan, representative of Artak Nazaryan's successor, announced at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan's Shengavit District.
This was the first court session held in Yerevan, all other previous sessions were held in the city of Berd in Tavush marz.
Artak Nazaryan was found dead in one of the border bases in Chinari villages on July 27, 2010.
Two soldiers and two officers are in the dock who are indicted for pushing Nazaryan to suicide. Meanwhile Artak's relatives claim that the 30-year-old lieutenant was murdered.
The defense attorney and the relatives of the accused state that the charges brought against the servicemen are fabricated.
"The indictment and charges are not based on the facts of the case, and the accusations against my client are based on assumptions," said Hrant Gevorgyan, Hakob Manukyan's attorney.
He stated that the investigation was one-sided and incomplete and the case should be remitted to the pre-investigation body.
Nazaryan's legal successors agreed with Gevorgyan but said that a new criminal case must be launched into the killing of Artak Nazaryan. However, Judge Samvel Mardanyan rejected both petitions, saying they were unreasonable and there's no point in reviewing the case.
This was followed by a petition for the resignation of Military prosecutor Harutyun Harutyunyan which was immediately turned down.
The next session is due on November 23.
