On March 27 in the
Court of First Instance of Tavush marz the trial on death case of serviceman,
Lieutenant Artak Nazaryan continued.

The judge Samvel
Mardanyan asking about data of journalist or media video taking the session
announced that Azerbaijani TV channels show some parts of this trial and warned
“there shouldn’t be a leakage of information” and in case of problems connected
with the national security the journalists will bear responsibility.

In the previous court
session the victim’s successor Tsovinar Nazaryan and his representative
ombudsman Ruben Martirosyan expressed a rejection to challenge the accuser Harutyun
Harutyunyan. H. Harutyunyan opposed the rejection saying there were no
sufficient grounds for that. The court session was interrupted to make a
decision on the rejection.

At 2:00 pm in the
restarted session the judge Samvel Mardanyan rejected the mediation expressed
to accuser Harutyun Harutyunyan. Then the court listened to the witness, the
battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Misha Gabrielyan. Despite the other
witness Garegin Sayadyan appeared before the court earlier the judge decided to
interrogate Misha Gabrielyan (after Artak Nazaryan’s death the latter was moved
to Chambarak, his position was reduced for one year).

Misha Gabrielyan
characterized Artak Nazaryan as an intelligent, humble person adding that he
could partially fulfill the responsibilities of the commander of platoon, Artak
Nazaryan had difficulties in some practical tasks as if he didn’t like the
military work.

On the day of Artak’s
death the Lieutenant Colonel M. Gabrielyan was in vocation. The Capitan Hakob
Manukyan gave Artak’s notebook with a note to the deputy commander of the
battalion Major Najaryan demanding to say nothing about it to anyone. After
Artak’s death Najaryan gave them to Misha Gabrielyan but the latter gave that note
and the notebook which were material proves to the investigating authority
after some days.

The Lieutenant Colonel
Gabrielyan said in the court that he had forgotten about them and hadn’t
thought the notebook and the note were important for the case. In that note
Artak Nazaryan mentioned nobody was accused of his death, a part of that note
is deleted.

After the interrogation
of the witness the accuser H. Harutyunyan submitted a motion to pronounce M.
Gabrielyan’s pre-investigational evidences. The representatives of victim’s
successor and the defendant’s attorneys were against it but the judge Mardanyan
satisfied the mediation. The accuser Hayk Haroyan was reading Misha
Gabrielyan’s pretrial testimonies with great difficulty which had been written
by investigator Madatyan.  The witness
Gabrielyan answering the question of the representative of the victim’s
successor Ruben Martirosyan said there were no reasons for killing Artak
Nazaryan. The witness was sure Artak had committed a suicide but couldn’t
mention any reason for that.

The accusers Harutyun
Harutyunyan and Hayk Haroyan asked the witness questions for a long time which
were not often connected with the accusation. According to defendant Hakob
Manukyan’s defender Hrant Gevorgyan the accusers “were beating around the bush”
and received a remark by the judge Samvel Mardanyan.

In the next court
session which will take place on April 17 Garegin Sayadyan will be interrogated
as an important witness.

Voskan Sargsyan

Ijevan