Epress.am News from Armenia
The first court hearing on November 18 in the case into the brutal murder of Yerevan Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute cadet Haykaz Barseghyan lasted only about 15 minutes: the Avan and Nor Nork district court, presided over by judge Davit Harutyunyan, adjourned the hearing until December 1 since some of the defendants' lawyers failed to show up to court today.
Four cadets of the same military institute, Vache Sahakyan, Movses Azaryan, Gnel Tevosyan, and Norik Sahakyan, have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Note, Tevosyan is the son of Colonel Zarmik Markosyan, former Deputy Chief of the Institute's Armaments department.
As reported by an Epress.am correspondent, the start of the hearing was delayed since the victim's distressed relatives and family members started to yell curses upon the defendants' entrance to the courtroom. Barseghyan's mother, followed by other relatives, headed towards the accused in the dock, and nearly 10 bailiffs had to block their way.
The defendants' family members remained silent while the killed cadet's relatives shouted “Shame on you, brutes, scumbags, bastards” before being escorted out from the courtroom by law enforcement officers. Barseghyan's mother and grandmother, who held the photo of her grandson throughout the entire process, were the only ones allowed to stay.
As the hearing proceeded, judge Harutyunyan announced his decision to adjourn the hearing until December 1; however, the attorney of one of the accused protested, claiming he had a “busy schedule that day.” The judge then stressed that the case involved multiple parties, and since it would be hard to choose a day convenient to all of them, he urged the sides to “adjust your schedules accordingly.”