Epress.am News from Armenia
Seda P., witness in the case of Vanadzor resident Karen Kungortsev, who was charged with the attempted murder of 15-year old Davit Hovakimyan, announced in court on Monday, April 13, that she saw on the night of October 12, 2013, Kungortsev being taken away from his workplace by 5 men in plainclothes using excessive force, defense attorney Arayik Papikyan told Epress.am on Tuesday, April 14.
Kungortsev, who claims he is innocent, was arrested on the day of Hovakimyan’s murder, was kept in police custody for three days, and transferred to jail.
Seda P., who worked at the same bakery as the defendant, said that when she was summoned for questioning by the Police, one of the chief investigators tried to force her to write down a testimony dictated by him. The woman refused, after which the police officers, as alleged by the witness, began to threaten her, tried to hit her. Seda P., however, withstood the pressure.
With Seda P’s testimony ended the series of questionings of about 30 witnesses, all of whom said they had not seen the accused at the crime scene, nor did they recognize him.
At yesterday’s hearing the victim’s father, Hakob Hovakimyan, was also questioned. He said that the situation was very unclear to him, and that he was very skeptical of the testimonies of the witnesses, which, he was sure, were mostly false. In particular, Hovakimyan was doubtful of the distinct differences in the testimonies of the young witnesses given during the preliminary investigation and in court. The victim’s father had the impression that the witnesses were frightened or that something prevented them from telling the truth, because, as stated by Hovakimyan, it was impossible that no one saw what really happened on the day of his son’s murder. Moreover, the father was sure that most of the witnesses knew exactly what had happened, but were for some unknown reason lying in court.
Recall, Karen Kungortsev does not admit guilt, and human rights defenders and his attorney indicate violations recorded during the preliminary investigations.
While behind bars, the accused has resorted to self-harm, as well as beginning a hunger strike. His mother said that her son was beaten by police while under police custody and forced to confess.
The charges against Kungortsev were changed from murder to attempted murder last August. At the same time, the investigation accused and detained Vanadzor Medical Center company doctor Vladimir Ghukasyan for negligence and improper implementation of professional duties.