The Murder Case of Poghos Poghosyan at the 'Aragasht' Café Will Be Reexamined

The Appeals Court of Armenia has decided to grant the prosecutor's appeal and send the criminal case regarding the murder of Poghos Poghosyan at the 'Aragasht' café, which occurred during the night of September 24-25, 2001, back to the first instance court for a new examination.

As previously reported, the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office had reviewed the case tried in the first-instance court concerning the murder of Poghos Poghosyan at the 'Aragasht' café on the night of September 24-25, 2001, and the appeal submitted by the representatives of Steven John Newton, along with the attached documents.

It was determined that on September 25, 2001, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Aghamal Harutyunyan, was found guilty of committing a negligent homicide under Article 103 of the former Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The court concluded that around 00:30 on September 25, 2001, in the restroom of the 'Aragasht' café, a mutual scuffle occurred between Poghos Poghosyan and Aghamal Harutyunyan, during which they exchanged blows. As a result, Poghosyan fell backward, striking his head against the tiled floor of the restroom, leading to fatal cranio-cerebral injuries.

In a ruling dated February 21, 2002, the court sentenced Aghamal Harutyunyan to two years of imprisonment, with the punishment conditionally suspended and a trial period set for one year.

Following the submission from Newton's representatives to the Prosecutor General of Armenia and the attached declaration of S. J. Newton regarding the incident, it was revealed that the statement contains significant information suggesting that a group of individuals may have intentionally committed murder due to hooligan motivations. This indicates new circumstances have emerged that could demonstrate that the convicted individual may have committed a more serious crime of murder under aggravating circumstances compared to the original charges, as well as the involvement of other individuals in the crime.

Based on these findings, the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office initiated proceedings to review the judicial act related to Poghosyan's death due to the new emerging circumstances, sending the case to the serious crimes investigation division of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

During the investigation, several actions were taken, and witnesses were questioned who confirmed that Poghos Poghosyan was beaten by several individuals. John Steven Newton was also interrogated, providing corroborative testimony about the incident.

A forensic medical examination was commissioned, the results of which significantly differ from the previous conclusions made in the criminal case. This new evidence, combined with other factual data obtained during the investigation, including witness statements, confirms that a group of individuals struck Poghos Poghosyan in various parts of his body, particularly the head, resulting in closed blunt force cranial injury.

Thus, the investigation yielded new evidence indicating that a group of individuals evidently committed a more serious crime of murder under aggravating circumstances than originally charged against the convict. Consequently, on January 17, 2020, the Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia filed an appeal with the Appeals Court to review and overturn the February 21, 2002 verdict based on newly discovered circumstances, sending the case for new trial.

On July 6, 2020, the Appeals Court of Armenia upheld the Deputy Prosecutor General A. Harutyunyan’s appeal, overturned the 2002 February 21 verdict, and sent the case back to the Yerevan city court of general jurisdiction for reexamination. At the same time, the court determined that Aghamal Harutyunyan would be subject to a release suspension measure.