Domestic Violence Case Verdict Appealed By All Parties; Perpetrator in Prison on Different Charges

Today, the Court of Appeals heard the appeal in the case of domestic violence victim Hasmik Khachatryan. Earlier, the Gegharkunik Court had found that Hasmik Khachatryan had been subject to torture by defendant Sargis Hakobyan, sentencing the latter to 1.5 years of imprisonment and freeing him at the spot by granting him amnesty. However, none of the sides was satisfied with the court’s verdict. The plaintiff, prosecutor, and defendant, all appealed the verdict. 

Sargis Hakobyan demanded that the verdict be overturned and the court declared him innocent. The prosecution, represented by attorney Vardan Lazaryan, demanded 5 years imprisonment, while Hasmik Khachatryan’s side demanded 7 years imprisonment for Hakobyan.

Sargis Hakobyan was not present during today’s hearing. His representative said that Hakobyan was not present because the case was being examined in the Court of Cassation, and that he is authorized to represent the defendant. Despite that explanation, Hasmik Khachatryan’s representative Tigran Muradyan presented the court with a document from the Nubarashen penitentiary which stated that Sargis Hakobyan was at the penitentiary at the time of the hearing. 

The court consulted on site and decided that the hearing would continue without Hakobyan’s presence, despite not receiving proper petition about his not being at court. Sargis Hakobyan was arrested earlier this year for damaging his parents’ property and extorting money from them. 

The presiding prosecutor Vardan Lazaryan said that the prosecution was appealing the verdict because the court did not find it proved that Hasmik Khachatryan and Sargis Hakobyan were spouses. For this reason, according to Lazaryan, the court had not noted that the individual subject to the torture was a dependent of the perpetrator; hence the latter aspect would lead to a much stricter punishment.

Lazaryan said that even if a civil marriage had not been established, Hasmik Khachatryan still lived in Sargis Hakobyan’s home, had two children, and ran Hakobyan’s household. The prosecutor also motioned to not consider the fact of Hakobyan’s custody of one of his children as a mitigating factor for his punishment, because the child is currently living with his grandparents. 

The hearing was delayed; the other appeal suits will be heard during the next session.