Prosecutor General's Office lodged a protest to the Criminal Court of Cassation demanding to annul the RA Court of Appeal decision of February 26, 2010 on Sasha Davtyan's case and confirm the decision of the Aragatsotn province first instance court of general jurisdiction which sentenced Sasha Davtyan to 4 years of imprisonment. 

Sasha Davtyan, a resident of the Katnaghbyur village, was charged with raping his minor daughter and torturing his two daughters. The Aragatsotn province court of general jurisdiction acquitted him of rape charges basing on the fact that police had obtained evidence by inadmissible means - torturing his daughters. The court recognized Davtyan guilty for torturing his daughters and sentenced him to 4 years of imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal commuted the sentence to 3 years, and Davtyan was released from the court under the amnesty statutes.

According to the protestor "the RA Criminal Court of Appeal made an obvious judicial error, court substantiations do not proceed from the materials of the criminal case, factual judicial circumstances of the case, features characterizing the person of the defendant, circumstances mitigating his responsibility and punishment have not been correctly assessed due to which he was sentenced to obviously mild punishment." 

To substantiate his protest the prosecutor has referred to the fact that Sasha Davtyan pleaded guilty for tortures only during pre-investigation after which in two courts Davtyan did not plead guilt and did not repent for his actions. According to the protest,

"though the court considered important special features of the crime, it did not pay adequate attention to the fact why Tehmine Davtyan (older daughter), after taking different psychotropic pills, tried to commit suicide on August 11, 2008, and minor Shushan Davtyan fled from the house in slippers at around 11:30 p.m."

Sasha Davtyan's attorney Khanum Mkrtchyan says that the protest lodged by the prosecutor's office externally bears the impression but does not have any violation of material and concrete norms of judicial law, hence "as a specialist I think that the protest has to be returned."

In attorney's opinion the verdict of the Court of Appeal is objective. She has lodged a solicitation to the Court of Cassation with the above substantiation.  

P.S. None of the policemen who put tortures to Sasha Davtyan and his daughters at the Kentron Police Department was brought to account till now despite the fact that their names and place of work are known (see http://www.hra.am/am/point-of-view/2010/02/25/arrest).