Scuffle at Lori Court as Defendant Refuses to ‘Serve for Someone Else’

A scuffle broke out in Lori District Court on March 18 as Prosecutor Vahe Dolmazyan demanded a prison sentence of 9,5 years for Vanadzor resident Karen Kungortsev charged with attempted murder of 15-year-old Yerevan teenager Davit Hovakimyan. 

In an interview with Epress.am, head of the Yerevan-based Helsinki Association for Human Rights Mikayel Danielyan, who attended the March 18 hearing, said that the brawl broke out at the end of the hearing when Kungortsev told the prosecutor he was not going to “serve a prison sentence for someone else.” After an exchange of verbal insults between the two men, Dolmazyan threw some item at Kungortsev, upon which the defendant's mother intervened with curses directed against the prosecutor.

Video by HAHR.

The human rights defender told Epress.am that he was convinced of Kungortsev's innocence, and their organization was going to fight for his aquittal to the last. Besides, Danielyan added, after the prosecutor's final speech, the victim's father announced that “80 percent of the indictment is made up.”

Speaking of the rumours going around in Vanadzor about the real murderer being a son of a National Security Service officer, Danielyan said that this gossip presumably referred to witness Artur Baghdasaryan: “I don't know who killed [Hovakimyan]; those are just rumors. I can only say that Karen Kungortsev is innocent, and the prosecution is probably aware of this, too. [Prosecutor Dolmazyan’s] speech resembled more a defense speech in support of Artur Baghdasaryan. Anyhow, he mentioned Bagdasaryan's name more often than that of the killed, David Hovakimyan,” the human rights defender stated.

Mikayel Danielyan suggested that “big money is involved in the case,” hence the prosecution demanding a 9,5 years' sentence for Kungortsev.

Video in Armenian.