CONCLUSIONS OF 3 OUT 5 EXPERT EXAMINATIONS ON L. GULIAN’S DEATH CASE
NOT YET RECEIVED
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The tradic death of Levon Gulian is a
blow not only to his family and friends but also to Armenia. Chairman
of the "Zharangutyun" ("Heritage") party Raffi Hovannisian expressed
this opinion at the public discussion "Levon Gulian. A Man’s Life:
Challenge to the Society" on June 8.
To recap, according to official information, Levon Gilian, 31, director
of the Pandok Restaurant in Yerevan, on May 12, 2007, fell from a
window on the second floor of the building of the Main Criminal
Investigation Department of the RA Police and died on the spot. On that
day, at about 2:30 pm he was invited to the police for questioning in
connection with the murder of Stepan Vardanian committed on May 9 near
the above mentioned restaurant at 17 Manandian Street. During a
conversation in an office of the department, L. Gilian asked an
employee to bring him a glass of water and in the latter’s absence he
tried to escape through the window but fell down and died from injuries.
In the words of R. Hovannisian, "the state and police must conduct an
internal investigation, reveal the truth, present it to the society and
the victim’s family, and, irrespective of who the guilty person is,
bring him to justice."
Jemma Gulian – L. Gulian’s widow said that on May 12 L. Gulian came
(not accompanied by anyone) to the Main Criminal Investigation
Department of the RA Police from Yerevan’s Shengavit police department
where he had been invited several times. She expressed confidence that
he did not intend to escape as he had other possibilities to escape.
The victim’s father Ashot Gulian considered it obvious that on May 12
L. Gulian was invited to Hovik Tumanian, first deputy head of the Main
Criminal Investigation Department (MCID), but the investigation is
trying not to mention that name. So far it has not been announced who
had invited L. Gulian to the MCID. In Ashot Gulian’s opinion, the law
enforcers’ statement that the battery of L. Gulian’s cell phone was
found at the place where S. Vardanian was killed is an attempt to
present L. Gulian as a person involved in the murder of S. Vardanian.
Especially as Ashot Gulian has L. Gulian’s cell phone and its battery
with him. The victim’s father said that L. Gulian couldn’t have
received so many injuries as a result of falling from a second floor.
He stated that they will submit to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office
an application to ascertain this circumstance through an examination of
independent criminalists.
Hrayr Ghukasian, representative of L. Gulian’s legal successor,
reminded that in connection with the death of L. Gulian, a criminal
case was opened under Article 110 (causing a person to commit suicide)
of the RA Criminal Code: Yerevan prosecutor’s office is conducting an
investigation into the case. According to him, a forensic,
dactyloscopic, chemical and fibre-examining expert examinations were
made, then another forensic examination with the participation of a
German and a Danish experts were made on the initiative of the victim’s
legal successor. So far the legal successor has received the
conclusions of the dactyloscopic examination and the forensic one made
by local experts. He has not been informed about other actions of
investigators either.
Another representative of the victim’s legal successor, Aram
Karakhanian noted that several parts of the conclusion of Armenian
expert-made forensic examination (which is available at the website of
the RA Prosecutor General’s Office) do not allow to form a full notion
of the conclusion. In his words, a full notion can be formed only after
publication of the conclusion of the forensic examination by foreign
experts. It is expected that this conclusion will be given to the legal
successor’s representatives within the next two days. He expressed an
opinion that from the viewpoint of the criminal case opened based on
the fact of L. Gulian’s death, the police statements on L. Gulian’s
being connected to the murder of S. Vardanian are of no significance.
Chairman of "Hyus" ("Hope") NGO Karen Hakobian stated that an
initiative group "For Defence of Levon Gulian" has been set up.
According to him, unlike Armenian NGOs, "Human Rights Watch"
international organization has formed its position on the case of L.
Gulian and issued a statement. He added that L. Gulian’s case has been
included in the Strategic Trials project implemented by the Soros
Foundation in Armenia. In his opinion, this circumstance is likely to
help solve some financial problems in order to achieve a fair trail on
L. Gulian’s case.
According to Larisa Alaverdian, first Armenian ombudsperson, executive
director of "Against Court Arbitrariness" NGO, with respect to the case
of L. Gulian, public opinion should be formed which will allow to get
the answer to the question about who is to blame for L. Gulian’s death
rather than to the question of whether H. Tumanian is quilty or not.
She said that some Armenian newspapers write that "the state body in
the person of the police views this matter in terms of justifying H.
Tumanian." She underlined the fact that no explanation has been
provided in connection with the fact that L. Gulian died in the
territory of a state structure – the Main Criminal Investigation
Department of the RA Police.