Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On March 6, 2020, another court session on Julieta Ghukasyan’s case was to be held in Shirak region General Jurisdiction Court. The session was postponed for the 6th time. Once again, defendant A. Razgildeyev, Russian military base serviceman, was not brought to Court. Military base commander Martinyuk again sent a note to the Court, informing that the position expressed on February 4, 2020, was unaltered and they claimed written safety guarantees from Armenia.   Moreover, accusing prosecutor V. Mirzoyan did not appear for the session, either. On March 5, the day before the session, the latter asked the presiding Judge Adrine Ghukasyan to postpone the session of March 6 and considered not appearing for the session reasonable due to the condition that together with Shirak region Prosecutor, he was to take part, in the board extended session dedicated to the summary of 2019 yearly results of Prosecutor’s Office activity. 

HCA Vanadzor lawyer Hayk Hakobyan, who is the representative of the victim’s legal successor Anahit Ghukasyan, expresses his opinion that by not bringing the serviceman before the Court, the Russian side impedes the administration of justice. He made a petition to take measures to eliminate conditions impeding the administration of justice in the frame of this criminal case, namely, the military base not bringing the defendant before the Court. 

Hayk Hakobyan claims that the demand by the Russian side to present written guarantees of security is not legitimate, ‘There is no legal act establishing a demand for any of the RA state bodies to present security guarantees. Therefore, this claim is not legal, and not bringing the defendant before the court on this ground is, naturally, an illegal claim. It cannot be a ground not to bring the defendant before the Court’, says H.Hakobyan.

In this regard, HCA Vanadzor also made a report to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office, claiming that not bringing the defendant before the Court is a crime. The report submitted to the Prosecutor's Office by HCA Vanadzor states, 'The military base’s actions of not bringing the defendant before the Court factually impede the administration of justice, since the military base actually does not do the Court’s legal order and does not bring the defendant before the Court. Moreover, putting it down to the absence of security guarantees by RA state bodies is illegal, as no legal act, including the RA Constitution, RA international treaties, RA Criminal Procedure Code, RA Constitutional Law ‘RA Judicial Code’, establishes a demand to present written guarantees of security for the accused in the frame of a criminal case and his/her accompanying persons. All this facts combined indicate the commission of a crime envisaged under RA Criminal Code, which should become a matter of discussion in  relevant criminal case proceedings envisaged by RA Criminal Procedure Code and get a criminal legal assessment’. Taking into consideration that the accusing and defendent parties were not present during the court session, the Court postponed the discussion of HCA Vanadzor lawyer Hayk Hakobyan’s petition for the next court session scheduled for March 20, 2020.