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BRIBERY CASE VICTIM CHANGED TESTIMONY SEVERAL TIMES UNDER POLICE PRESSURE: LAWYER
07.09.2014 10:58 epress.am
The sixth police division and investigator Minasyan continue to put
pressure on victim Babken Budaghyan in the bribery case, defendant
Sahak Harutyunyan's attorney Inessa Petrosyan informed Epress.am.
Budaghyan in court on July 7 declared that the Special Investigation
Service (SIS) threatened him -- if he doesn't change his testimony,
they'll charge him with another case.
Recall, Armenian Ministry of Justice employees Sahak Harutyunyan and
Aleksander Khachatryan are accused of extorting a bribe of 400,000
AMD (a little less than $1,000 USD) from the victim. The charge
was compiled based on the victim's testimony, but he later said in
court that he testified against Sahak Harutyunyan upon the request
of investigators.
The July 7 trial began with the court reading Budaghyan's statement,
in which he wrote that the testimony he made in court was incorrect
and asked for the opportunity to testify again.
"It became clear that our suspicions -- that Budaghyan did not appear
in court on July 3 because the investigator was 'working on him' --
were justified. By the way, also absent at the July 3 court hearing
was the prosecutor. In any case, the victim declared in court that
investigator Minasyan and sixth [police] division chief Yeghishe
Petrosyan forced him to write that statement. He said that even when
submitting the application to court Yeghishe Petrosyan accompanied
the victim to Etchmiadzin. He forced the victim to leave his car at
the SIS yard and go with him to Etchmiadzin," said Petrosyan.
In court, the victim, Budaghyan, claimed that Sahakyan didn't demand
a bribe from him and the entire story about a bribe is a provocation
by a certain Ghazar, who said, "You'll go and put the money on
Khachatryan's desk." The victim even said he's not literate enough
to be able to write such a statement.
According to the defense attorney, Inessa Petrosyan, at Monday's court
session Budaghyan requested that sixth police division employees not
accompany him to court. The attorney said that though this is a means
of protection, their presence pressures the victim.
Earlier, defendant Aleksander Khachatryan's attorney Givi Hovhannisyan
had said it is clearly visible in the video of the victim being
questioned at the police station that the victim has a bruise
under his eye and this proves that Budaghyan testified against the
two defendants after being subjected to violence. According to the
attorney, his client ex officio had no opportunity to make changes to
the list of those granted amnesty, thus it would've been fraudulent
of him to agree to take a bribe for something he couldn't do. Sahak
Harutyunyan, according to the lawyer, had nothing to do with bribery
and a criminal case was launched against him only based on the victim's
ever-changing testimonies.
Photo: Sahak Harutyunyan's relatives protest outside the Armenian
General Prosecutor's Office
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/07/09/bribery-case-victim-changed-testimony-several-times-under-police-pressure-lawyer.html
07.09.2014 10:58 epress.am
The sixth police division and investigator Minasyan continue to put
pressure on victim Babken Budaghyan in the bribery case, defendant
Sahak Harutyunyan's attorney Inessa Petrosyan informed Epress.am.
Budaghyan in court on July 7 declared that the Special Investigation
Service (SIS) threatened him -- if he doesn't change his testimony,
they'll charge him with another case.
Recall, Armenian Ministry of Justice employees Sahak Harutyunyan and
Aleksander Khachatryan are accused of extorting a bribe of 400,000
AMD (a little less than $1,000 USD) from the victim. The charge
was compiled based on the victim's testimony, but he later said in
court that he testified against Sahak Harutyunyan upon the request
of investigators.
The July 7 trial began with the court reading Budaghyan's statement,
in which he wrote that the testimony he made in court was incorrect
and asked for the opportunity to testify again.
"It became clear that our suspicions -- that Budaghyan did not appear
in court on July 3 because the investigator was 'working on him' --
were justified. By the way, also absent at the July 3 court hearing
was the prosecutor. In any case, the victim declared in court that
investigator Minasyan and sixth [police] division chief Yeghishe
Petrosyan forced him to write that statement. He said that even when
submitting the application to court Yeghishe Petrosyan accompanied
the victim to Etchmiadzin. He forced the victim to leave his car at
the SIS yard and go with him to Etchmiadzin," said Petrosyan.
In court, the victim, Budaghyan, claimed that Sahakyan didn't demand
a bribe from him and the entire story about a bribe is a provocation
by a certain Ghazar, who said, "You'll go and put the money on
Khachatryan's desk." The victim even said he's not literate enough
to be able to write such a statement.
According to the defense attorney, Inessa Petrosyan, at Monday's court
session Budaghyan requested that sixth police division employees not
accompany him to court. The attorney said that though this is a means
of protection, their presence pressures the victim.
Earlier, defendant Aleksander Khachatryan's attorney Givi Hovhannisyan
had said it is clearly visible in the video of the victim being
questioned at the police station that the victim has a bruise
under his eye and this proves that Budaghyan testified against the
two defendants after being subjected to violence. According to the
attorney, his client ex officio had no opportunity to make changes to
the list of those granted amnesty, thus it would've been fraudulent
of him to agree to take a bribe for something he couldn't do. Sahak
Harutyunyan, according to the lawyer, had nothing to do with bribery
and a criminal case was launched against him only based on the victim's
ever-changing testimonies.
Photo: Sahak Harutyunyan's relatives protest outside the Armenian
General Prosecutor's Office
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/07/09/bribery-case-victim-changed-testimony-several-times-under-police-pressure-lawyer.html