Epress.am News from Armenia
The RA Court of Cassation refused to begin proceedings based on complaints launched by Lieutenant Artak Nazaryan's legal successor (and sister) Tsovinar Nazaryan and attorney Mushegh Shushanyan, as well as the attorneys of one of the convicted, Hakob Manukyan, Tsovinar Nazaryan told Epress.am.
The Court of Cassation, the highest judicial instance in the country, explained its refusal by saying that after it examining the facts presented in the case, it did not arrive at the conclusion that the Court of Appeals made an apparent judicial error that could lead or not lead to serious consequences.
Tsovinar Nazaryan is now preparing to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
Recall, on Aug. 1, the RA Criminal Court of Appeal presided by judges Grisha Meliq-Sargsyan, Karine Ghazaryan, and Henrik Ter-Adamyan, upheld the lower court's ruling in the case of Lt. Artak Nazaryan, who died while serving in a military unit in Tavush marz in 2010.
The Tavush District Court of First Instance found the following guilty of leading Lt. Nazaryan to suicide: Hakob Manukyan (sentenced to 10 years in prison); Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Mkhitar Mkhitaryan, and Adibek Hovhannisyan (all sentenced to 4 years in prison); and Harutik Kirakosyan (3 years in prison).
The injured party insists that Artak Nazaryan did not commit suicide, that he was murdered, and the investigation has been full of violations. Previously, experts presented several facts proving the many irregularities in the case.
For some more background on this case, read this recent account by the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office.