The release of Syunik governor's son Tigran Khachatryan, who was arrested for beating the Zakaryan brothers in Sdghi Gyol, has triggered a lot of questions which still remain unanswered.
The thing is that the Zakaryan brothers' father says that they have not changed their evidence. "We have simply been told the investigation has revealed that it was not Tigran Khachatryan that hit my son in the eye. The witnesses have also confirmed that fact. As regards the statement that we have changed our evidence, it has nothing to do with the reality," Gagik Zakaryan has told ArmInfo.
Meanwhile, on October 1, the Investigative Committee sent files to the Prosecutor General's Office to cancel the measure of restraint against Tigran Khachatryan. The files publicized by ArmInfo say that the decision to cancel the measure of restraint is based on the fact that the aggrieved party has changed its evidence. So, the Zakaryans' statements do not coincide with the Investigative Committee's files.
Gagik Zakaryan also says that even if it was not Tigran Khachatryan that hit his son in the eye, nevertheless, Tigran Khachatryan provoked the scuffle and he also must be brought to responsibility. In this case, if the aggrieved party does not withdraw its accusations against Tigran Khachatryan, why the measure of restraint has not been replaced with recognizance not to leave, for instance, while the rest of the scuffle participants are still in custody.
ArmInfo has attempted to find the answers to these unclear questions, but the Investigative Committee did not pick up the phone. Meanwhile, the Khachatryans' lawyer has told journalists that the charges against Tigran Khachatryan will shortly be dismissed.
To recall, on October 1, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia took a decision to cancel the measure of restraint against Tigran Khachatryan based on the Investigative Committee's files. The files publicized by ArmInfo show that one of the reasons why the measure of restraint against Tigran Khachatryan has been changed is the change in the preliminary evidence given by the aggrieved party - the Zakaryan brothers, despite the fact that their father has assured ArmInfo that they have not changed their evidence. In particular, the document sent by the Investigative Committee to the Prosecutor General's Office says, "Khachatryan's guilt of deliberate infliction of grave harm to Harutyun Zakaryan's health was not proved in the course of investigation. No new proofs may emerge since Yuri Manucharyan has confessed that it was he who hit Harutyun Zakaryan in the eye. For his part, Harutyun Zakaryan said during the confrontment that it was Manucharyan, not Khachatryan, who hit him in the eye. This fact has also been confirmed by Manvel Malintsyan, Surik Baghdasaryan and Vladik Stepanyan, who are also involved in the case." The Investigative Committee goes on substantiating its proposal to stop the criminal prosecution against Tigran Khachatryan by the fact that the charges cannot be based on assumptions. Consequently, Khachatryan should be set free, the Committee says. To note, on May 2 Tigran Khachatryan inflicted grave bodily injuries to Armenian citizen Harutyun Zakaryan in a scuffle that took place near the Sdghi gyol site in the vicinity of Goris. Harutyun Zakaryan lost his eye. Syunik province governor Suren Khachatryan's brother and nephew were also arrested. This is not the first incident that involves the Syunik governor's relatives. Their names have been mentioned in various criminal scandals including rapes, murders, beatings and kidnappings. Tigran Khachatryan was also targeted in the investigation of the murder of Avetik Budaghyan, however, the case was dismissed in the absence of evidence.