Prosecution Demands 88-Year-Old Man Be Convicted of Attempted Murder, Despite Lacking Evidence

The Tavush Prosecutor’s Office demands that 88-year-old Sahak Khachatryan be convicted of the attempted murder of Tsakhavan village head Artur Ghazaryan. The prosecution, nonetheless, acknowledge that the investigation has been unable to find any motive for the defendant, a level 2 invalid, to want to kill the village head.

“Yes, the suspect did not have any past conflicts or disputes with the victim. The failure to establish a motive, however, does not negate the possibility that [Khachatryan might have attempted the murder],” the prosecution argued at a Tuesday hearing at the Appeal Court.

According to the case materials, Khachatryan poured zinc phosphide on the handle of the front left door of Ghazaryan’s car. “Zinc phosphide affects the respiratory tract, damages internal organs, and can even lead to death. Khachatryan does not have sufficient understanding [of the chemical compound] to know how much of it might be fatal, therefore he had an intention to kill [Ghazaryan,” the prosecutor stated.

The court, however, was not convinced by the prosecutor’s argument: “How are you so sure that he wanted to kill Ghazaryan?” judge Rubik Mkhitaryan asked the prosecutor.

“One has to eat [zinc phosphide] in batches for it to be fatal,” judge Sergey Chichoyan countered for his part.

“Well, the defendant says nothing, the victim say nothing… What else is the prosecution to conclude?” the prosecutor replied.

“Him choosing to remain silent should not be used against the defendant. The prosecution must have sufficient evidence to be able to make such claims,” judge Mkhitaryan charged back.

On January 31, 2018, the Berd first instance court in Tavush province acquitted Khachatryan of attempted murder, due to the absence of criminal intent. The prosecution subsequently challenged the verdict at the Court of Appeal. The Court, however, ruled today not to overturn the acquittal.

In his final speech, the 88-year-old, who is partially deaf and blind in one eye, insisted that he did not pour arsenic on the village head’s car handle: “The village administration has been receiving arsenic since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The village head offered me some once, but I refused it since I live alone and don’t do farming. I’ve voted for this village head five times; why should I want to kill him?”