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Vernissage shooting case is already in court

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Court proceedings are started in relation to the recent shooting in the territory of Yerevan’s flea market known as Vernissage. However, the day of the first court sitting is still unknown. The three defendants in the case –Gor Arakelyan, Valerik Hovhannisyan and Nerses Melkonyan have been placed under detention. On May 17, Gor Arakelyan, a 29-year-old son-in-law of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) lawmaker Karo Karapetyan, started an argument with Nerses Melkonyan and Valerik Hovhannisyan near Vernissage.  Five people received gunshot wounds in the legs as a result of the argument, including Melkonyan and his friend Hovhannisyan. The police instituted a criminal case on the hallmarks of illegal gun possession and an act of hooliganism committed with the use of firearms. Arakelyan turned himself in to police the next day, surrendering his Makarov pistol. He was charged under clauses 1, 6 and 10 of part 2 of Articles 34-104 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (a murder attempt against two or more persons committed in a way dangerous for the life of many people out of hooliganism) and under part one of Article 235 (illegal procurement, transportation, keeping or carrying of weapons, explosives or explosive devices) Arakelyan’s lawyer does not agree with the charges, argueing that his client shot then in self-defense.