The consideration of the motion on suspension of criminal prosecution against Tigran Khachatryan, the son of the ex-governor of Syunik region, has been put off, Rouben Sahakyan, the Khachatryans' lawyer, President of the Armenian Bar Association, said at a press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday.
Sahakyan has recently expressed his intention to file a motion on suspension of criminal prosecution against Tigran Khachatryan. The reason for the motion was Sahakyan's conviction that when shooting at Avetik and Artak Budaghyan, Tigran Khachatryan used reasonable force in self-defense. At the same time, the lawyer expressed confidence that the Budaghyans made an armed attack on Khachatryan's house.
"The structures engaged in the preliminary investigation found our motion early. However, I can say that the opposite party's lawyer Hayk Alumyan is distorting the facts. The Budaghyans' lawyer is trying to reduce my motion to nothing, and I am ready to meet him and discuss this topic with him. Syunik's ex- governor Surik Khachatryan is not a defendant and will not be a defendant. I do not represent his interests, because Surik Khachatryan needs no defense given that he was sleeping at home on the day of the incident", said Sahakyan.
Earlier Artak Budaghyan's lawyer Hayk Alumyan blamed the Military Prosecutor's Office for the fact that no charges have yet been filed against Khachatryan.
To recall, shootouts in front of Syunik Governor Suren Khachatryan's house at 00:10am on June 2 killed former candidate for Goris mayor Avo Budaghyan and wounded his brother Artak Budaghyan, a commander at a military unit in the NKR. There was another wounded, Nikolay Abrahamyan, a relative and bodyguard of Governor Suren Khachartyan. A criminal case has been initiated on the basis of Article 103.1 (murder) and Article 235 (illegal use, storage and bearing weapons) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. Syunik Governor Suren Khachatryan's son, Tigran Khachatryan, has been arrested over latest shootouts in Syunik. Earlier, the governor's bodyguard Zarzand Nikoghosyan was arrested over the case. On June 3 Suren Khachatryan sent in his resignation declaring that everyone must answer for their mistakes. He regretted for failing to prevent the tragic incident near his house.
On July 9, the brother of Avetik Budaghyan was charged with Article 137.1 of the Criminal Code. Recently the lawyer of the Khachatryans family Ruben Sahakyan said he was going to make a petition for release and termination of proceedings against Khachatran's son. Sahakyan claims Tigran Khachatryan fired at Avetik and Artak Budaghyans for self-defense. The lawyer is sure that Budaghyan brothers committed an armed attack on Khachatryan's house.