Nazaryan Case verdict: Several soldiers sentenced to jail terms over high-profile army death
Hearings of the case on the death of RA Armed Forces lieutenant Artak Nazaryan at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Shengavit district in Yerevan in 2011.
On Tuesday judge Samvel Mardanyan, chairman of Tavush region’s general jurisdiction court, brought in the verdict sentencing the five defendants in the case to different terms of imprisonment: Hakob Manukyan received the heaviest sentence of ten years, Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Adibek Hovhannisyan and Mkhitar Kirakosyan have to serve four years, and Harutik Kirakosyan was given three years. Kirakosyan, however, falls under amnesty and has been released from serving the prison term.
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 were defendants in the case (for allegedly driving Artak to shoot himself; they denied their guilt), two of them claiming that they 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.
The aggrieved party was not in court when the verdict was declared. Tsovinar Nazaryan, Artak’s sister and legal successor, released a statement early Tuesday morning that she would not be at the court session, because she could predict the verdict and thought it unbearable to stand up and honor it.
“There has been no investigation to find out whose and what kind of impact had led to numerous bodily injuries Nazaryan suffered “up to 6 hours before” and “shortly before” his death; with whom and under what circumstances Nazaryan drank alcohol on empty stomach an hour and a half before his death; what consequences his company commander Gagik Udumyan’s invectives and threats had, hurled at Nazaryan hours before his death. Nazaryan’s fingerprints were not found on his rifle, none of his 120 bullets was missing after his death, instead of the cartridge box found during the site inspection a different one (of another number) was sent to forensics,” reads the statement.
After the verdict was read out, Tsovinar wrote on her Facebook wall that she did not have her hopes high for Armenia’s justice system right from the beginning, nor does she now. She says they knew clearly what needed to be done to disclose the truth in court, challenge the illegalities, corruption, the justice system buried in fraud; and they are not alone – like in the cases of March 1-2 tragic deaths, of Armenian National Congress activists, the “Harsnakar affair”, the Mataghis case and others, when the legal successors together with civil society joined hands to try to lay bare the truth …
“Now we will fight not only to solve my brother’s murder, but also to disclose the full extent of perversion of Armenia’s justice system, which is what we have actually been doing from the beginning. We strongly believe that sooner or later this struggle will achieve the collapse of this inhuman system and establishment of true democracy in Armenia. But, even if the murder is not solved, even if we do not see democratized Armenia, more humane Armed Forces, administration of justice in other cases, we will continue our struggle, no matter what. We are already deprived of any hope. And, it is impossible to drive to despair those who have no hope,” wrote Nazaryan.
https://www.armenianow.com/society/human_rights/45959/armenia_soldier_nazaryan_case_verdict
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