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Police Officer in Shant Harutyunyan Case Gives Conflicting Testimony in Court

During the entire time victims and witnesses were being questioned in the trial in the case of political activist Shant Harutyunyan and his friends, the police officers taking the stand entered the courtroom through not the regular but the judge's door, said Harutyunyan's attorney, Inessa Petrosyan, in court today, noting that this is evident of the court's biased attitude. The attorney also objected to the actions of Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan: according to Petrosyan, the judge often rephrases the attorneys' questions, thus guiding the police officers to whom the questions are directed, or completely removes the questions. 

Joining this objection was defendant Mkrtich Hovhannisyan's attorney, Ruzanna Hovhannisyan. However, Judge Martirosyan countered that the judge's actions are not up for discussion.

Questioned in court today was Police Lieutenant Colonel Vardan Gevorgyan, who is named as one of the victims in the case. In his pretrial testimony, Gevorgyan said he was hit on the head, but this fact was not confirmed in the video footage. This contradiction Gevorgyan explained by saying that he meant his hat fell. 

Defendant Misak Arakelyan asked the police officer to explain if he wanted to prevent the march from going on to the street, then why had police officers formed a line not along the sidewalk, but the opposite, opening the way from the back of the Opera toward Mashtots Avenue. The victim did not give a clear answer to the question. Gevorgyan also gave conflicting answers to the question whether he knew that there would also be plainclothes officers at the November 5, 2013 march. In court, Gevorgyan said he didn't know about this and he found out about the plainclothes officers later, from the news media. Meanwhile, as noted by defendant Tigran Petrosyan, in his pretrial testimony Gevorgyan said he knew police officer Edgar Aleksanyan, who was in civilian clothing that day. 

Gevorgyan's testimony concluded the examination of victims and witnesses in this case. Now the court moves to questioning the defendants. This stage will begin with the court session appointed on August 13. 

Note, Harutyunyan and his 13 friends are accused of hooliganism committed with an object used as a weapon and resisting the authorities during an anti-government march Harutyunyan organized on November 5, 2013. The men claim they are innocent, adding that provocateurs interfered with their march, while police officers in plainclothes provoked the conflict with activists. 

Photo from the November 5, 2013 march.