Epress.am News from Armenia
Ara Zakaryan, the attorney of Karabakh War veteran Volodya Avetisyan, who is accused of taking bribes and has been in pre-trial detention since September 20, 2013, in court today made a motion for the judge to recuse himself. Zakaryan said the presiding judge's impartiality is doubtful, since he made an unlawful decision to procure arguments against Avetisyan.
At the last court session, the judge sustained the prosecution's motion to publicize the testimony witness Henrik Haboyan gave in the preliminary investigation. The witness had said in court that he doesn't remember whether he met with the investigator to give a testimony or not. Zakaryan noted that the judge first rejected then approved the same motion, whereas the circumstances hadn't changed. The attorney recalled that the right to publicize the testimonies a witness gave during the preliminary investigation is provided only in two cases: if the witness cannot come to court or when the testimony given in court is significantly different from that given during the investigation.
The judge, after returning from the consultation room, rejected the motion.
Recall, Avetisyan doesn't admit to the charges; moreover, he claims the charges against him are a result of political persecution, since he was one of the organizers of the regular protests by veterans.
His military friends and supporters had come to the courtroom today wearing T-shirts with the inscription: "I am Armenian, Regime, kill me".