Thursday, September 5 2019 14:54

ArmInfo.Stephen Newton, who witnessed the murder 18 years ago of a 43-year-old Georgian citizen, member of the Dashnaktsutyun party Poghos Poghosyan, is in Armenia and is ready to repeat his testimony in court. He stated this in an  interview with the  RFE/RL's Armenian Service.

According to him, back in 2001, the court, chaired by Judge Mnatsakan  Martirosyan, decided not to take into account the fact that they were  made in English.

To note a British citizen who was a key witness in this case in 2001  was a visiting teacher at the School of Management.

In a conversation with Radio "Azatutyun", he stated that he had seen  the bodyguard of former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan brutally  beat Poghos Poghosyan in the men's toilet of Aragast cafe (Float  cafe, Ed. note) ") for that day that he went up to Charles Aznavour  and Robert Kocharian and said: <Hello Rob>.for coming up to Charles  Aznavour and Robert Kocharyan that day and said: <Hello Rob>.

<In September 2001, I was in the " Aragast " with a group of friends  - musicians, artists, sculptors. We had a good evening. Kocharyan  arrived with his escort. Aznavour was with him, and everyone  applauded the good old man. They sat at a table. Before that, there  were two men who seemed to be familiar with Kocharyan. They also  celebrated an event.

Apparently, they went to Kocharyan's table and said: <Hi, Rob> or  something like that. And this offended him. When Kocharyan left, we  were sitting down here directly opposite the men's toilet in front of  the stairs leading to the road. Those two men who greeted Kocharyan  followed him, then they returned, accompanied by bodyguards who  pushed them into the men's room. My wife then said: they will be  killed. I did not believe what I heard, and said: <No, until I have  been here this>. I rushed to the toilet and went inside. The one who  was called Cuckoo beat one man with the butt of a gun. I pushed him  away. When I entered, another man, Poghos Poghosyan, was lying on the  floor, he was almost dead, his head was doubled. I screamed for help.  The bodyguards did not know who I was. I suppose they thought that I  was an ambassador because I was wearing a suit and a bow tie. My wife  came to see what was happening to me.  She was worried. I asked her  to call an ambulance. Doctors arrived very quickly, but the man was  already dead. I climbed the stairs ...>

74-year-old Stephen Newton said that the next day, the British  ambassador to Armenia helped him go to Romania, because there were  concerns about his safety. Newton, however, recorded his testimony in  Romania and, in the presence of the British consul in that country,  signed it and sent it in sealed form to Armenia. These testimonies, a  copy of which is still kept by Newton, were not able to be attached  to the case of the lawyer of the successor Poghos Poghosyan, Ruben  Sahakyan.

It should be noted that Ruben Sahakyan is currently one of the  lawyers representing Kocharyan's interests, and at that time he  represented the interests of his brother Poghos Poghosyan. "I cannot  believe this, because they certainly could have translated these  testimonies, because I was the main witness," Newton said, noting  that he was not invited to testify.

Only Robert Kocharyan's bodyguard, Aghamal Harutyunyan, known by the  nickname " Cuckoo ", was sitting in the dock. He was charged with  reckless murder under section 103 of the Criminal Code. He was  sentenced to two years probation. A witness from abroad was  surprised: in his country one can receive a much more severe  punishment only for insulting someone.

<As far as I remember, Cuckoo was given only 20 months. In Armenia, I  had no hope of justice. It's crazy when someone kicks another with  the butt of a gun: I'm not exaggerating, his [Poghos Poghosyan] head  was terribly swollen, it became twice as much. It was a cold-blooded  murder ... This guy had no chance. He was drunk, but completely  harmless. Whatever they say, such treatment of them was unjustified>,  Newton emphasized.  The Briton remembers how, on the day of the  incident, he saw then Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan in a  cafe. He claims that he didn't react at all to his words that a man  had just been killed in a cafe and that the police should be called.

<When I climbed the stairs, there was Minister of Justice David  Harutyunyan. He was talking on the phone.  I said: <Make these people  detained>. He closed his phone and left. And my wife then said: "You  better get out of here." Then, I yelled because the musicians was  still playing jazz. I shouted: <Why do you keep listening to this  music? These bastards just killed a man>. The music stopped, everyone  was surprised, and then I also left>, he said.

After the "Velvet Revolution" last year, Stephen Newton sent a letter  to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, to which he attached a copy of his  testimony, but has not yet received an answer.