"The court is a marionette in the hands of authorities"
Artak Zeynalyan, the advocate of the March 1 victims, today presented in the Court of Kentron and Nork-Marash districts the complaint of relatives of victims Tigran Khacahtryan, Gor Kloyan and Armen Farmanyan. Zeynalyan stressed that one of the victims' fundamental rights - the right to life - had been violated and the country must protect it.
The relatives were challenging the inactivity of the pre-trial body - Special Investigation Service.
All the three victims died of the "Cheriomukha -7" tear gas grenades. Two of them - Tigran Khacahtryan, 23, and Armen Kloyan, 34, were injured in the head and Gor Kloyan, 29, in the right groin.
"It is well-known that only policemen used Cheriomukha -7 tear-gas weapons. To date, the SIS failed to file an action on murders, detect policemen shooting at demonstrator or examine the scene of action. Many questions are left unanswered which speaks of the body's inactivity," announced Artak Zeynalyan.
During the whole sitting, the relatives crying.
"I do not want to make an impression that we are making an inquiry," said Judge Gayane Karakhanyan adding that the preliminary investigation is still underway.
The advocate reminded the judge that no criminal case had been instituted on the murders hence; they could not speak of a preliminary investigation.
To this, Prosecutor Harutyun Harutyunyan remarked that Zeynalyan was unaware of the case material. Then he requested the court to reject the relatives' complaint on the ground that an unbiased inquiry into the case was initiated.
Upon the petition of the advocate, the court sitting was adjourned till May 5.
"The judge openly shows disrespect for the ten victims, their relatives and advocate. This is not a court, this is a marionette serving the interests of authorities," said Alla Hovhannisyan, the mother of March 1 victim Tigran Khacahtryan, after the sitting.
