Gaspari Alleges One of His Prison Torturers Was ‘Murdered’

Civic activist Vardges Gaspari announced after a Monday hearing at the Shengavit district court that his former Nubarashen jail cellmate Mkhitar Sargsyan, whose death on March 1 was reported as suicide by law enforcement officials, did not actually kill himself but “was murdered for not torturing me assiduously enough.”

“This trial is of secondary importance to me because at the prison where I was subjected to torture one of the perpetrators, Mkhitar Sargsyan, was murdered. In all likelihood, he was killed for not torturing me assiduously enough. He then was hanged to make it look like a suicide. That's why these proceedings are unimportant. A man was killed, which proves that the judicial system and the government are working together,” Gaspari stated.

Gaspari's lawyer, Tigran Yegoryan, told reporters that he had filed a motion for judge Nelly Baghdasaryan's recusal, citing the judge's “numerous violations and impulsive unfounded decisions.” Such “unqualified” officials, the lawyer added, “should be kicked out” of the judicial system.