Epress.am News from Armenia
A key witness in the murder trial of four cadets from Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute charged with killing Haykaz Barseghyan in January, 2015, told the court at a Thursday hearing that he had seen the accused – Vache Sahakyan, Movses Azaryan, Gnel Tevosyan, and Norik Sahakyan – by Barseghyan's bed on the night of the murder. Tigran Demirchayn, who was the victim's roommate, insisted that he had, indeed, witnessed the murder but had been too shocked to move and help Barseghyan. He added that neither he nor the other roommates dared to report the incident to the institute's commanders until morning.
“And you'll remain shocked,” defense lawyer Hovik Arsenyan remarked, which earned him a disciplinary sanction from Avan and Nork Marash district court judge David Harutyunyan.
The witness then provided a detailed description of the events of the night of Barseghyan's death; “I was awakened by the noise and saw [the accused] standing at Haykaz's bed. At first, I thought they wanted to fight because they had already brawled with him in the dining room. But when I saw them grabbing him by his hands and feet, I realized they had something worse in mind.
“It's my understanding that Movses Azaryan had closed Haykaz's mouth. Then I heard Haykaz throwing up, cursing at them and saying, 'guys, what are you doing?' That was the last I ever heard Haykaz speak. My eyes went dark, and I don't remember anything else.”
Upon realizing that his roommate had been killed, Demirchyan added, he did his best to stay still and silent, fearing a similar fate. Demirchayn also testified to seeing Azaryan “write something sitting in a bright place” and hearing the accused discuss as to how to proceed with Barseghyan's corpse. Vache Sahakyan, according to the witness, offered to throw it out of the window, while Norik Sahakyan thought it best to hang it.
Note, through the entirety of the questioning, the witness remained very restless and was constantly shaking. Ara Zakaryan, the lawyer for accused Gnel Tevosyan, even told him sharply to “sit still and stop twitching!” Demirchayn admitted that, although he has been on medication, he has yet to find a way to cope with the fears and shock that resulted from witnessing the murder.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Haykaz Barseghyan's father, Arkady Barseghyan said he found his son's roommates' behaviour on that night “bizarre.” “Why wouldn't any of the cadets react to the killing. For that, I both blame them and feel sorry for them. Look at Tigran, for example: he is alive, yes, but his psyche is completely shattered. Perhaps, [the eyewitnesses] did not do anything because they knew the accused were absolute scum. Perhaps, they were afraid of receiving similar treatment. The roommates later said that on the morning after the incident, Gnel Sahakyan had come to them and threatened to slaughter anyone who'd dare to say a word.”