Friday, September 27 2013

I don't think that the new appointment of Gevorg
Kostanyan as Prosecutor General of Armenia will be an 'award' for his previous
offences, Hayk Alumyan, the lawyer of Artakh Budaghyan, representative of the
legal successor of the suffering party Emil Budaghyan, told ArmInfo.

 

Military Prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan is currently
discussing his upcoming appointment with the parliamentary factions. Kostanyan was nominated by
President Serzh Sargsyan. Prosecutor General is appointed for a 6-year term and
cannot be nominated for the given position for more than two terms in
succession.

 

"In
'Goris case' Kostanyan simply did what he was told to do.  Therefore, I would not link his appointment
to the position of the prosecutor general with Avetik Budaghyan's murder
case," Alumyan said.  The lawyer
said that he does not cherish illusions with Emil Budaghyan's letter addressed
to President Serzh Sargsyan.  Emil
Budaghyan handed the letter to Serzh Sargsyan's bodyguards during the
president's visit to Syunik.

 

"Maybe,
the letter will be replied, but I pin no hopes for restoration of justice.
Nevertheless, we have disputed all the three verdicts on the case in the Court
of Appeal. We still hope for justice and punishment of those guilty," the
lawyer said.

 

On
September 7 the Investigation Service of Armenia's Defense Ministry terminated
the criminal proceedings against Syunik Governor Surik Khachatryan's son and
bodyguard.  "The actions of the
accused Tigran Khachatryan and Zarzand Nikoghosyan concerning the shooting in
the house of the former governor of Syunik region Suren Khachatryan were
self-defense. So, it has been decided to terminate the criminal action against
the accused and to set them free," says the Investigation Service of
Armenia's Defense Ministry. Khachatryan and Nikoghosyan were set free. They
were charged with murder, illegal possession of weapons, intentional infliction
of bodily harms and other heavy damage to health of other people.