A1+

Relatives demand challenge petitions from judge
[06:58 pm] 12 March, 2009

Before judge of the `Case of Seven’ Mnatsakan Martirosyan went to the
consultation room to discuss the challenge petition presented to
secretary of the trial, the court was forced to call an ambulance for
Grigor Voskerchyan.

Doctors said that Voskerchyan’s poor health condition didn’t allow him
to stay for the trial and they gave him treatment.

Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan postponed the trial to tomorrow at 12
p.m. Grigor Voskerchyan’s wife informed `A1+’ that her husband has not
been feeling well for the past two days and was forced to come to the
courtroom today. Voskerchyan’s advocate Stepan Voskanyan managed to
meet with his defendant only after the trial.

`During today’s trial I informed the judge that my defendant had
health problems and that I wasn’t able to meet with him because I was
out of the country. I petitioned to call the doctors and then
determine whether the trial would continue or not. But the judge
overlooked my statement,’ said Voskanyan.

The advocate is not sure whether or not his defendant will be able to
participate in tomorrow’s trial. `Voskerchyan has very high pressure
is very high, he feels weak and is barely able to speak,’ said
Voskanyan.

During today’s trial Mnatsakan Martirosyan managed to announce the
grounds of the presented petitions and said that challenge petitions
with the same grounds were not presented more than one time. This was
the reason why Mnatsakan Martirosyan rejected the challenge petition
presented by Alla Hovhannisyan-mother of one of the victims of March 1
Tigran Khachatryan.

Alla Hovhannisyan still can’t understand why the judge attached the
ten murders with the cases of the political prisoners. According to
her, the preliminary investigation of the `Case of Seven’ was
conducted with flaws and the judge was not supposed to proceed with
the case.

`It is clear that all victims were not armed, but they were either
killed by use of combat weapons or the special device used by the
police officers. The conclusion does not state who the murderers were
and their names remain unannounced. The current legal proceedings go
to show that the court doesn’t want to reveal the crimes that were
committed,’ said Tigran Khachatryan’s mother.

The judge didn’t even examine the petition of the victim’s
mother. Jemma Vardumyan, mother of one of the victims of March 1 David
Petrosyan, reminded judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan that she makes the
trip from the Lori Marz every day and doesn’t have enough money to
come to a court where the legal proceedings haven’t really begun yet.