Disadvantage in Court: Soldier’s family calls for prosecution against judge
Tsovinar Nazaryan
Tsovinar Nazaryan says that during the recent hearing, on February 5, the judge did not allow human rights advocate Ruben Martirosyan, representing Nazaryan in the court, to make a motion and asked him to leave the courtroom after imposing a court sanction on him.
“That’s what prompted us to turn to the Prosecutor General. There are fundamental principles of holding trials and the RA Constitution guaranteeing the right for fair trial, this right is consolidated also by international agreements. Both the defense and the prosecution have to have equal rights to present their arguments,” she says.
Artak Nazaryan died in late July of 2010 at a military post near Chinar village, Tavush province. The official version says it was suicide, and five of his fellow soldiers are defendants in the case (for allegedly driving Artak to shoot himself; they deny their guilt), two of them claiming that were tortured and forced to confess. Artak’s family is convinced that it was murder and that the respective bodies are covering it up. During the trial several witnesses denied their earlier testimonies.
A forensic examination of Nazaryan’s body had revealed 54 injuries; however no investigative action has been taken to find out their source. His immediate commander found Nazaryan’s diary and submitted it for evidence, with missing pages and a suicide letter. It remains unclear, however, whose gun he used to shoot himself. Based on these facts as well as the forensic report for gunfire residue, the aggrieved party is convinced the case is a cover-up.
During the February 5 hearing the defense tried to solicit the court to call the forensic scientist as a witness in this case..
“The forensic report says that gunfire residue was found in the skin scraping samples of seven among the eleven conscripts examined. These traces of copper metallic bonding are evidence that the seven soldiers in question might have been in close vicinity to the victim at the time of shooting,” says human rights activist Martirosyan. “The forensic evidence related to these seven completely contradicts the information acquired through the so-called investigation claiming that nobody witnessed Nazaryan’s suicide.”
Nonetheless, the conscripts have not been brought into the case, meanwhile five other soldiers are now facing charges. There is the forensic report, but no consequent investigation has been carried out, hence what might have become a key factor in solving this case is being discarded, Nazaryan supporters argue.
Tsovinar, the victim’s sister, is very persistent in her determination to achieve a fair trial in her brother’s case. She was given the Woman of Courage award last year by the United States Embassy in Armenia in partnership with the British Embassy, the OSCE Yerevan office and Counterpart International. The award was handed to her by then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her official visit in Yerevan. Tsovinar is also an active participant of various political movements.
She is puzzled by the fact that the forensic evidence doesn’t play any role in the trial.
“It’s a major factor in the case. Seven people witnessed the gunshot, meaning those seven people know who, and under what circumstances, the gun was fired. Even if it was suicide, why are those seven more inclined to hide that fact? When Martirosyan tried to make a statement, judge Mardanyan declared that the defense is not entitled to motions and removed him from the hall. This means weakening the defense positions,” Nazaryan says.
It was the fifth time judge Mardanyan had removed Martirosyan from the courtroom.
Defense attorney Mushegh Shushanyan says in the beginning the court granted their motions to call the second investigator in charge of the case, Levon Petrosyan, and forensic physician Vigen Adamyan to the court.
“However, by granting those petitions the preliminary theory started falling apart right in front of their eyes, hence the court changed its work style and started denying all our motions. The judge denies them justifying it by one argument: “The military prosecution has submitted this case as it is now and that’s what I am working with”. Meaning that, maybe unconsciously he is actually admitting that he is not the body to establish justice, but is merely someone to put a court seal on the military prosecution’s conclusion,” explains the attorney.
According to him, it was illegal to remove Martirosyan as someone representing the victim’s legal successor in court, because in that case the successor (in this case Tsovinar Nazaryan) finds herself at a disadvantage against the prosecution and the defense attorneys representing the defendants.
The victim’s successors have addressed a letter to president Serzh Sagrgsyan, the Ombudsman, the Council of Justice, the Public Council, demanding legal action against judge Mardanyan for restricting the rights of the victim’s legal successor’s representative by imposing an unfair court sanction.
“When the whole system is corrupt, perverse and interconnected, it is a huge challenge to achieve justice, at the same time all levers have to be used. Public attention has to be drawn to it, as well as that of the international community; we have to go through all legislative procedures and find certain civil support,” says Nazaryan. “Grounds should be laid for bringing issues to surface and for finding solutions. At the same time there has to be a power that would have enough political will to fix the justice system in Armenia.”
Attorney Shushanyan says crime prevention in the armed forces would be possible only if the existing cases get solved.
“During one of the campaign meetings with the incumbent president a woman, Nana Muradyan, mother of conscript Valery Muradyan who died during service in the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army, approached Serzh Sargsyan. He responded to her plea to solve her son’s case by saying ‘You think it’s so easy to solve murder cases?’ I’d like to say; Yes, in fact it is easy! They spend several times more resources on covering up the cases. If the corrupt law enforcement system he backs and sponsors did not exist, and instead we’d have a fair judicial system, those cases would have been solved and their recurrence chances would have dropped,” says the attorney.
In a January meeting with the press, military prosecutor of Armenia Gevorg Kostanyan reported that the number of non-combat deaths in the army decreased in 2012 (29, but 9 of which were the result of ceasefire violation) as compared to 2011 (34 cases).
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office reported its own data claiming an increase rather than decrease in numbers: there were actually 48 cases with lethal outcome in the army, among them 12 –rather than 9 – were the result of ceasefire violation; in 2011 the number of deaths was 39, the assembly says.
http://www.armenianow.com/society/human_rights/43440/armenia_army_deaths_artak_nazaryan_helsinki_citizens_association
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