Epress.am News from Armenia
Taguhi Mansuryan, a Yerevan woman who, along with her parents, was subjected on July 8 to a vicious ax attack by her former husband, 31-year-old Vladik Martirosyan, described in conversation with RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) the events which led to the attack. The woman, who is still unaware that her 64-year-mother has died of her injuries, told that on the evening of July 7 Martirosyan came to her parents' apartment and tried to force his way into their home. Taguhi's parents called police to report that the man was threatening them, and the officers who soon arrived at the scene took the woman and her mother to a police station to register the complaint.
“We were dropped off [near our building] at around 4 in the morning. We climbed the stairs and [Martirosyan] came at me with an ax as soon as I reached our door. He hit me on the head, the back, the shoulder, the belly. I called for help and I don't remember anything from that point on,” Mansuryan said. She added that she had divorced Martirosyan because was subjected to physical abuse during the entirety of the couple's 1.5 years of marriage
Taguhi's father, Vachagan Mansuryan, for his part, condemned the inaction of law enforcement agencies. “They detain regular street protesters and fine them, put them behind bars for months, but they let this terrorist walk free. If only he had been fined, if only he had been imprisoned for at least three months…” Mansuryan told Azatutyun.am.
Note, Vladik Martirosyan was found guilty in 2015 of having subjected his then-wife to domestic violence on at least three separate occasions; however, he never actually served any time in prison thanks to a Yerevan judge's decision to impose a six-month suspended sentence against him. He now faces a murder charge and life in prison if he's convicted.
Video by Azatutyun.am: