Epress.am News from Armenia
Nearly all 30 witnesses in the case of Vanadzor resident Karen Kungortsev, who was charged with the attempted murder of 15-year old Davit Hovakimyan, have told the court that they did not see the accused at the crime scene, nor do they recognize him. Two other witnesses stated that they had seen him near the boarding school about 500 meters from the scene. Epress.am was informed of the latter by the defendant’s lawyer Arayik Papikyan.
The friends of the murdered 15-year old continued to testify in court yesterday, March 23. Recall, Davit Hovakimyan had gone to Vanadzor with his handball team and was stabbed during an argument there.
Kungortsev’s lawyer stressed that one of the young witnesses claimed in his testimony that he didn’t remember much because a long time had passed since the incident. According to Papikyan, there were facts in the witness' speech refuting his previous testimony. During the preliminary investigation, the young man said that he had suggested the arguing group to move to another part of the park, while yesterday he stated other boys had made the suggestion.
“This one witness suffers from memory loss,” said Arayik Papikyan. The lawyer stated that after the testimonies of the last two witnesses at the next hearing, the court will turn to the questioning of the victim's successor, Davit Hovakimyan’s father.
Recall, Karen Kungortsev does not admit guilt, and human rights defenders and his attorney indicate violations recorded during the preliminary investigations.
While behind bars, the accused has resorted to self harm, as well as beginning a hunger strike. His mother said that her son was beaten by police while under police custody and forced to confess.
The charges against Kungortsev were changed from murder to attempted murder last August. At the same time, the investigation accused and detained Vanadzor Medical Center company doctor Vladimir Ghukasyan for negligence and improper implementation of professional duties.