Khachatryan Sisters Case May Be Closed

According to information obtained by Kommersant, the lawyers representing the three Khachatryan sisters, who are accused of killing their father, have submitted a request to the Investigative Committee demanding the implementation of a decision made last year by Viktor Grin, then Deputy Attorney General of Russia, which instructed investigators to recognize the actions of the girls as acts of self-defense. As this circumstance excludes 'criminal actions,' there arises a necessity to terminate their criminal prosecution.

It was also noted that according to expert conclusions, the youngest sister, Maria, who was a minor at the time of the crime, needs to be sent for compulsory treatment. However, this relates to outpatient treatment rather than sending the girl to a psychiatric hospital, as she has long been visiting a psychologist and psychiatrist along with her sisters. The reason stems from the psychological trauma that the sisters experienced due to constant stress, sexual and physical abuse, threats, beatings, and the like from their father. Most of these facts have been confirmed by investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee handling the murder case.

However, sources from Kommersant within both the Investigative Committee and the supervisory body indicate that a dual situation has now arisen. On one hand, the Deputy Attorney General's decision is legal, but on the other hand, the then Attorney General although did not annul the Deputy's decision, requested that investigators conduct another examination.

“This verbal procedure interests us very little,” said Angelina Khachatryan’s lawyer Alexey Parshin. According to him, “it is now only necessary to apply the current legislation.” The lawyer emphasized that the new investigation, conducted at the insistence of the former Attorney General Chaika, confirmed and strengthened “the conclusions previously made by experts in favor of the girls.”

The new expert data “only adds to and specifies the previously made conclusions about the terrible situation prevailing in the family, confirming the facts of Mikhail Khachatryan's cruel treatment of his daughters and the psychological effects of the events.”

“Experts have once again emphasized that the sisters’ state of anxiety and emotional stress has deepened,” explained one of the sisters’ defenders, noting that it has been re-established that the desperate girls were afraid of their father's aggression. “We hope that the case will be closed,” the sisters' lawyers said, stressing that they expect to receive a response to their request sent to the Investigative Committee in the coming days.