Defence of Armenian servicemen Khachatryan complains to ECtHR

In the case of David Khachatryan, who was convicted for the murder of his fellow soldier Lux Stepanyan, the principle of a fair trial was violated, said his advocate. In this regard, a complaint on the case was filed to the ECtHR.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Private Lux Stepanyan was shot dead on May 15, 2013, in one of the military units of the city of Noyemberyan, Tavush Region of Armenia. On charges of the murder and wounding another fellow soldier Grachya Sargsyan, Private David Khachatryan was sentenced in July 2014 to 17 years in prison. The defendant claimed that he had committed the murder involuntarily.

For the first time, the defence of Khachatryan announced the preparation of a complaint to the ECtHR back in April 2015. Today it became known that the complaint has been finally sent.

Yerem Sarkisyan, the advocate of Khachatryan, believes that the principle of fair trial, stipulated by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was violated at the trial of his client. According to Sarkisyan, the country's Minister of Defence and the General Public Prosecutor made statements about Khachatryan and violated his presumption of innocence, while relatives of Lux Stepanyan, who demanded life imprisonment for the defendant, put pressure on the court, the "News.am" writes today.

On May 18, 2013, three days after the murder, the Armenian Defence Minister Seiran Oganyan told the relatives of the slain soldier that Khachatryan had intentionally inflicted a fatal wound to Lux Stepanyan during a quarrel, which had been initiated by Khachatryan himself, the "Armenia Today" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.