Vahan Shirkhanyan did not show up at trial of armed group (video)
The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts today started hearing in the case of an armed group that was neutralized in the Armenian capital in November 2015.
Hardly had the sitting begun when it was adjourned as some of the defendants, including Vahan Shirkhanyan, a former deputy defense minister of Armenia, had not showed up at the hearing.
“Mr. Shirkhanyan is unable to walk, he cannot sit more than 20 minutes because he has strong pains,” his lawyer Hayk Alumyan said before the sitting.
Shirkhanyan was arrested in December 2015 on suspicion that he aided and abetted Artur Vardanyan in organizing a criminal gang in Armenia.
Twenty people are charged in the scope of the case, including former senior officials and public political figures.
According to the indictment, the group headed by Artur Vardanyan illegally bought and stored weapons in one of the houses in Yerevan’s Nork Marash district. The group allegedly plotted to kill senior Armenian officials and carry out carry out a series of serious crimes in Armenia. On November 25, 2015, law enforcement raided the house and arrested nine individuals, including the leader.
Vardanyan today announced in the court that he was not guilty. “If it is a crime to protect Armenian people, then I am a criminal.”
Judge Armen Bektashyan decided to adjourn the sitting until January 13, allowing the new public defenders to get acquainted with the case material.
Hayk ALumyan does not know how Vahan Shirkhanyan will be able to attend the next sitting given his current health condition. “A reasonable person would understand that if a person is unable to move and sit, he cannot appear in the court himself. He needs a stretcher. If I see that people do not understand his condition, I shall file a motion,” the lawyer said.
