Harsnakar case: Both parties lodge appeal with Court of Cassation (video)
The defenders of the defendants and legal representatives of the victim of a high-profile murder case in Armenia, known as Harsnakar case, are displeased with the verdicts of the First Instance Court and Appellate courts. In March 2014, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Avan and Nor Nork districts sentenced each of the six defendants to 12 years in prison, a year less than demanded by the prosecutor attorney. The verdict was later upheld by the Appellate Court. The six men, who were officially listed as security guards and other employees of a Yerevan restaurant, were arrested on charges of beating four military physicians – Vahe Avetyan, Arkadi Aghajanyan, Edgar Nikoyan and Artak Bayadyan – at the Harsnakar restaurant owned by former Republican lawmaker Ruben Hayrapetyan. The violent dispute happened on June 17, 2012. Avetyan, a 35-year-old father of three, died of severe head injuries in hospital about two weeks later. The two other army medics were also seriously injured and hospitalized. The incident caused a public uproar in Armenia as hundreds of civic activists and other citizens held demonstrations at the restaurant as well as the house of its owner Ruben Hayrapetyan. The outcry forced Hayrapetyan to resign as member of the Armenian parliament and apologize to Avetyan’s family. The legal successors of both parties have serious doubts that Cassation Court will study their appeal.
