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COURT OF APPEALS REJECTS SUIT ASKING FOR MATERIALS OF DEAD SOLDIER'S CASE
12.02.2014 17:27 epress.am
On December 1, the Court of Criminal Appeals decided to maintain the
Court of First Instance's verdict in the case of Hayk Movsisyan, a
soldier who was found dead in a NKR detention facility. Movsisyan's
mother, Heghine Petrosyan, through her representatives, Artur Sakunts
and Arayik Zalyan, demanded that the court consider the SIS's decision
to dismiss the case of Movsisyan's death as illegal, as well as
recognize her as his next of kin, however the demand was rejected
at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash
Administrative Districts.
The Court of Appeals continually delayed the discussion of the appeal,
because the prosecutor refused to release the evidence forming the
basis of the dismissal.
In the Court of First Instance, the claimant demanded that the
investigator present all materials related to the case, however Judge
Mnatsakan Martirosyan did not obligate the investigator to do so and
handed a verdict without reading all the case materials. The Court
of Appeals, presided by Judge Manushak Petrosyan, did not agree with
the decision of the Court of First Instance and demanded that all
case related materials be presented, however the materials were not
given to the court.
The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office notes that yesterday
the prosecutor had sent a note to the court saying that the necessary
materials are already available for the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the court
stated that they consider the trial to be concluded and passed to
the phase of consulting additional evidence.
Arayik Zalyan, the representative of Movsisyan's mother, once again
motioned to obtain the materials of the case dismissed at the Special
Investigation Service (SIS). The court, however, stated that it
already undertook all possible and required means to obtain the latter
material. Additionally, the judge noted that the materials presented
to the Court of First Instance were sufficient for making a virdict.
Zalyan further pressed the motion, noting that otherwise there would
be a violation of the criminal judicial code article 290 section
4, because the provision mentions that the bodies conducting the
procedures are obliged to present all the materials of the case to
the court. However, the judge retired to the deliberation room and
denied the motion.
In the previous sessions, Arayik Zalyan noted that having all the
dismissed case's materials is important because officials have been
interrogated during the preliminary investigation. In particular, on
November 20, 2012, a court found rank-and-file soldier Hayk Movsisyan
guilty of evading military service "through maiming, feigned disease,
forgery of documents or other fraud" and sentenced him to 3 years
in prison. One week later, he was found dead in a detention facility
in Karabakh.
"The decisions from neither the trial, nor the preliminary
investigation results contain such information, that there are
obligations between the states regarding Armenian citizens, condemned
by Armenian court orders, being kept in NKR prisons. However, we can
register the factor that if a healthy individual was arrested by the
police and subsequently died, then the state (Republic of Armenia)
is obliged to present convincing reasons behind the incidents that
led to the individual's death," was said during the appeals suit.
According to the official stance, Movsisyan committed suicide in his
cell at the Shushi detention facility. The young man's mother stated
that she does not believe the suicide explanation.
Movsisyan's mother's representatives also stress that the preliminary
investigation and the judicial bodies have not undertaken all means
to discover the crime. It is especially unclear, for example, if in
fact the decision by the authorized bodies to send Hayk Movsisyan to
Nagorno Karakh was legal, and if it was possible for Hayk Movsisyan to
hang himself with his bed sheets from the window bars in 6-7 minutes
and if medical intervention would have saved Movsisyan's life.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/12/02/court-of-appeals-rejects-suit-asking-for-materials-of-dead-soldiers-case.html
12.02.2014 17:27 epress.am
On December 1, the Court of Criminal Appeals decided to maintain the
Court of First Instance's verdict in the case of Hayk Movsisyan, a
soldier who was found dead in a NKR detention facility. Movsisyan's
mother, Heghine Petrosyan, through her representatives, Artur Sakunts
and Arayik Zalyan, demanded that the court consider the SIS's decision
to dismiss the case of Movsisyan's death as illegal, as well as
recognize her as his next of kin, however the demand was rejected
at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash
Administrative Districts.
The Court of Appeals continually delayed the discussion of the appeal,
because the prosecutor refused to release the evidence forming the
basis of the dismissal.
In the Court of First Instance, the claimant demanded that the
investigator present all materials related to the case, however Judge
Mnatsakan Martirosyan did not obligate the investigator to do so and
handed a verdict without reading all the case materials. The Court
of Appeals, presided by Judge Manushak Petrosyan, did not agree with
the decision of the Court of First Instance and demanded that all
case related materials be presented, however the materials were not
given to the court.
The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office notes that yesterday
the prosecutor had sent a note to the court saying that the necessary
materials are already available for the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the court
stated that they consider the trial to be concluded and passed to
the phase of consulting additional evidence.
Arayik Zalyan, the representative of Movsisyan's mother, once again
motioned to obtain the materials of the case dismissed at the Special
Investigation Service (SIS). The court, however, stated that it
already undertook all possible and required means to obtain the latter
material. Additionally, the judge noted that the materials presented
to the Court of First Instance were sufficient for making a virdict.
Zalyan further pressed the motion, noting that otherwise there would
be a violation of the criminal judicial code article 290 section
4, because the provision mentions that the bodies conducting the
procedures are obliged to present all the materials of the case to
the court. However, the judge retired to the deliberation room and
denied the motion.
In the previous sessions, Arayik Zalyan noted that having all the
dismissed case's materials is important because officials have been
interrogated during the preliminary investigation. In particular, on
November 20, 2012, a court found rank-and-file soldier Hayk Movsisyan
guilty of evading military service "through maiming, feigned disease,
forgery of documents or other fraud" and sentenced him to 3 years
in prison. One week later, he was found dead in a detention facility
in Karabakh.
"The decisions from neither the trial, nor the preliminary
investigation results contain such information, that there are
obligations between the states regarding Armenian citizens, condemned
by Armenian court orders, being kept in NKR prisons. However, we can
register the factor that if a healthy individual was arrested by the
police and subsequently died, then the state (Republic of Armenia)
is obliged to present convincing reasons behind the incidents that
led to the individual's death," was said during the appeals suit.
According to the official stance, Movsisyan committed suicide in his
cell at the Shushi detention facility. The young man's mother stated
that she does not believe the suicide explanation.
Movsisyan's mother's representatives also stress that the preliminary
investigation and the judicial bodies have not undertaken all means
to discover the crime. It is especially unclear, for example, if in
fact the decision by the authorized bodies to send Hayk Movsisyan to
Nagorno Karakh was legal, and if it was possible for Hayk Movsisyan to
hang himself with his bed sheets from the window bars in 6-7 minutes
and if medical intervention would have saved Movsisyan's life.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/12/02/court-of-appeals-rejects-suit-asking-for-materials-of-dead-soldiers-case.html