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Police Keep Teenage Witness in Custody for 2 Days Before Murder Case Hearing
01.27.2015 13:50 epress.am
The witnesses in the case of Vanadzor resident Karen Kungortsev, who
was charged with murdering 15-year old Davit Hovakimyan, are
continuing to give their testimonies in court. During the
interrogation process in the preliminary investigation, the rights of
a few minors were violated, especially the right to give testimony
with the presence of a lawyer or parent.
A minor, R.S., who gave testimony in court yesterday, was kept at the
police station for 2 days. According to Kungortsev's lawyer, Helsinki
Association lawyer Arayik Papikyan, they "worked on him" while he was
in the police precinct. During his testimony, R.S. slightly changed
his original testimony, stating that he had been at the site of the
incident and had seen Kungortsev there. The latter, however, denies
the claim. According to the lawyer, there are other witnesses that
claim that R.S. was not present in the location during the fight. The
other two witnesses who gave testimonies against Kungortsev, went to
the court yesterday and said that the investigator wrote their
testimonies for them. When they were shown the testimonies, the
witnesses said that they were wrong and did not remember well;
confirming that the testimony was written in their handwriting. They
also claimed that, they were not present at place of the incident and
were informed of it by friends.
Recall, that in one of the previous hearings Gevorg Avagyan, a
witness, said that he was pushed by the police to testify against
Kungortsev. According to Avagyan, at the police station they showed
him a photo of Karen Kungortsev and stated that he has to testify
against him. "They said we'll show you four photos, this person's
photo will be in it as well and you'll point him out," explained
Gevorg Avagyan. One other witness took back his testimony, saying that
he had made up everything.
Recall, Karen Kungortsev does not admit guilt, and human rights
defenders and his attorney indicate violations recorded during the
preliminary investigations.
While behind bars, the accused has resorted to self harm, as well as
beginning a hunger strike. His mother said that her son was beaten by
police while under police custody and forced to confess.
The charges against Kungortsev were changed from murder to attempted
murder last August. At the same time, the investigation accused and
detained Vanadzor Medical Center company doctor Vladimir Ghukasyan for
unfair treatment and improper implementation of professional duties.
http://www.epress.am/en/2015/01/27/police-keep-teenage-witness-in-custody-for-2-days-before-murder-case-hearing.html
01.27.2015 13:50 epress.am
The witnesses in the case of Vanadzor resident Karen Kungortsev, who
was charged with murdering 15-year old Davit Hovakimyan, are
continuing to give their testimonies in court. During the
interrogation process in the preliminary investigation, the rights of
a few minors were violated, especially the right to give testimony
with the presence of a lawyer or parent.
A minor, R.S., who gave testimony in court yesterday, was kept at the
police station for 2 days. According to Kungortsev's lawyer, Helsinki
Association lawyer Arayik Papikyan, they "worked on him" while he was
in the police precinct. During his testimony, R.S. slightly changed
his original testimony, stating that he had been at the site of the
incident and had seen Kungortsev there. The latter, however, denies
the claim. According to the lawyer, there are other witnesses that
claim that R.S. was not present in the location during the fight. The
other two witnesses who gave testimonies against Kungortsev, went to
the court yesterday and said that the investigator wrote their
testimonies for them. When they were shown the testimonies, the
witnesses said that they were wrong and did not remember well;
confirming that the testimony was written in their handwriting. They
also claimed that, they were not present at place of the incident and
were informed of it by friends.
Recall, that in one of the previous hearings Gevorg Avagyan, a
witness, said that he was pushed by the police to testify against
Kungortsev. According to Avagyan, at the police station they showed
him a photo of Karen Kungortsev and stated that he has to testify
against him. "They said we'll show you four photos, this person's
photo will be in it as well and you'll point him out," explained
Gevorg Avagyan. One other witness took back his testimony, saying that
he had made up everything.
Recall, Karen Kungortsev does not admit guilt, and human rights
defenders and his attorney indicate violations recorded during the
preliminary investigations.
While behind bars, the accused has resorted to self harm, as well as
beginning a hunger strike. His mother said that her son was beaten by
police while under police custody and forced to confess.
The charges against Kungortsev were changed from murder to attempted
murder last August. At the same time, the investigation accused and
detained Vanadzor Medical Center company doctor Vladimir Ghukasyan for
unfair treatment and improper implementation of professional duties.
http://www.epress.am/en/2015/01/27/police-keep-teenage-witness-in-custody-for-2-days-before-murder-case-hearing.html