Man Who Shot 27-Year-Old in Head at 'Rosia' Club Still Free: Incident Details

At the 'Rosia' club located on the Vanadzor-Spitak highway, on June 14, the 43-year-old son of the club's director, Artem Akulyan, shot 27-year-old Mihiran Simonian in the head with a firearm. The Lori region court, presided over by Judge Susanna Gzogyan, denied the request to detain Artem Akulyan. This information was shared with NEWS.am by Mihiran Simonian's representative, Lusine Martirosyan.

Lusine detailed the circumstances of the incident: “Mihiran Simonian is from Yerevan; he went to Vanadzor to visit a friend, and they went to the 'Rosia' club to spend some time. During this time, a dispute arose with the club director. Mihiran was talking with the director when his son intervened in the conversation. Mihiran decided to settle the bill and leave the club with his friend. The director's son followed them, retrieved a gun from the trunk, aimed it directly at Mihiran Simonian, and fired.”

Martirosyan noted that Mihiran Simonian’s face is disfigured, and he survived by miracle. “After that, Mihiran's friend desperately tried to get him to Vanadzor hospital in his car, but could not manage it. Halfway, they asked a passing pedestrian for emergency assistance and barely got him to the hospital. From the Vanadzor medical center, under the direction of the minister, he was flown to 'Erebuni' hospital, where his life was saved.”

Martirosyan mentioned that the incident occurred a month ago, but for a month, materials were being prepared at the police station. “He hasn’t even been arrested. In such cases, a criminal case is usually initiated on the same day. During that month, he managed to obstruct the investigation; employees of the club started giving coordinated testimonies.”

The victim's representative revealed that Artem Akulyan is obstructing the investigation. “There are cameras both inside and outside the club. The recordings have been deleted. Someone managed to take pictures of the screen with their phone and delete those too. Later, they were taken to the committee, restored, and we were finally able to see how the incident occurred, which was in absolute contradiction with the testimonies given by witnesses.”

Lusine Martirosyan stated that the incident was obviously an attempted murder, yet the individual remains free. “In my line of work, I have never seen such a thing where an individual who clearly attempted murder and obstructed the investigation, previously charged with murder, is not detained by the judge. On Thursday, the investigator submitted a request for detention, but the judge postponed the discussion of the request until Monday. I make a comparison: when a person isn’t wearing a mask, they are taken to the police station, but when it comes to a matter of life, no steps are taken.”

The victim's representative also informed us that Artem Akulyan had previously been charged with murder. “The first-instance court found him guilty, but the Court of Appeals requalified it as necessary defense in 2006. There are already certain doubts regarding that judicial act, as it became evident that this person is accustomed to resorting to such actions.”

Martirosyan mentioned that the prosecutor has filed an appeal against the decision of the first-instance court. When asked about the victim’s health condition, Martirosyan stated that he still needs to undergo several surgeries. “He is a young man, and his face is disfigured.”