REPRESENTATIVES OF HELSINKI ASSOCIATION ARE SURE LEVON GULIAN HAS BEEN KILLED
Noyan Tapan
Jun 27, 2007
YEREVAN, JUNE 27, NOYAN TAPAN. "Levon Gulian was killed and died
because of torture inflicted upon him," the participants of the June
26 press conference held on the initiative of the Helsinki Association
claim. Ruben Martirosian, the expert of the association, who has taken
part in about 350 autopsies, "has never seen a corpse tortured to that
extent throughout his practice". According to him, Levon Gulian had
fallen at least 4-5 times as there were five haemorrages in different
parts of his head.
R. Martirosian drew journalists’ attention to the discrepancies
concerning the time of Levon Gulian’s death: it is mentioned in the
"Case Details" section in the official conclusion of the forensic
examination that the corpse of Levon Gulian was discovered at about
14.30 on May 12 near the principle administration building of the
Criminal Investigation of the RA Police, and in the statement made
by the police on May 22, it is mentioned that Levon Gulian "tried to
escape through the window of the room at about 15.20 and fell down,"
and that he died because of the injuries received from the fall.
According to the representatives of the association, one of the
questions suggested by the preliminary investigation has also remained
unanswered in the mentioned conclusion: the question of how long
L. Gulian remained alive after receiving his injuries. R. Martirosian
also drew attention to that circumstance, according to which no
food was discovered in the stomach of the dead by the post mortem
examination, though he had had lunch at home: the only explanation
is that Levon Gulian had a concussion of the brain as a result of
the injuries and vomited the whole content of the stomach.
The representatives of the association have no special confidence
in the impartiality of the experts invited from abroad, who did not
want to meet with representatives of the mass media, as well as with
the legal successor of Levon Gulian.
Jemma Gulian, the widow of L. Gulian, expressed her dissatisfaction
with the fact that though "an open investigation" was promised, the
legal successor of L. Gulian made great efforts to get the conclusion
of the forensic investigation. The legal successor also does not have
any information of whether anybody has been accused in the case.
Mikayel Danielian, the Chairman of the association, declared that
their association has been engaged in 7-8 cases concerning torture
and inhuman attitudes, but the defendants were punished in only one
of these cases.