Child Custody Battle Continues In Court: Judge Asked to Leave Aside Presumptions

During the court hearing between citizens Narine Nikoghosyan and Edison Adyan over the right for custody over a child,  judge Levon Avetisyan stated that he believed Nikoghosyan was hiding information.

Nikoghosyan claims that Adyan, who is not the child’s father according to her, had kidnapped her baby after she gave birth. Adyan claims that Nikoghosyan had said herself that he was the father and that his name was on the child’s documents. Adyan said, that even if DNA tests did not prove he was the father, he was not going to give up the baby after taking care of it for nearly two years.

Today, at the Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun Districts Court of First Instance judge Levon Avetisyan stated an opinion that Nikoghosyan was trying hide something from the court.

Judge: I urge you to speak the truth. What interest did you have, what did you agree to?
Nikoghosyan: I did not agree to anything. Adyan and doctor Kalustyan had an agreement.
Judge: The doctor would not dare to do such a thing.
Nikoghosyan’s lawyer Ani Torosyan: I ask the court to leave aside the presumption that Nikoghosyan had agreed to give away the baby.
Judge Avetisyan: I’m not that naive to believe that a mother just gave away her child.

Although, Nikoghosyan said in her speech that she was unaware that she was signing Edison Adyan as the father of the child in the document, the judge repeatedly stated; “if you didn’t wish to write the real father’s name because he was married and were scared of creating more problems, then why write Adyan’s name? Because he is also married.” Nikoghosyan repeatedly stated that she didn’t know what she was signing.

Pictured Ani Torosyan (left) and Narine Nikoghosyan (right)

Nikoghosyan’s other lawyer Lernik Hovhannisyan presented an appeals against investigator Arakelyan’s decision to not initiate a criminal case into the kidnapping of the child.

Hovhannisyan said that among the three expert examinations the investigator did not implement the most important one, a DNA test. The investigator also did not properly assess Nikoghosyan’s psychological state at that time, did not look into the forging of the child’s birth documents, did not decipher from phone operators information about their phone calls. The investigator also did nothing to even get in contact with doctor Hrach Kalustyan. who introduced the two sides and who has a direct link to the case. According to the lawyer, in the case of conducting the necessary actions for the investigation, the investigator would have exposed the false testimony by Edison Adyan and that his words were not trustworthy.

Edison Adyan was also present at today’s court session. He motioned to participate in the case because the issue was related to him. In his speech Adyan said that Nikoghosyan never called or asked how the child was. “How would she (Nikoghosyan) support, discipline the child, she has no home or place. Look at my conditions, look how I’m keeping the child,” said Edison Adyan.

The judge advised Adyan to take a DNA test. “Go, take the test, with God’s grace, let it turn out that the child is yours,” said the Judge.