Gagik Jhangiryan is Mixing Something: Gevorg Kostanyan on the Mataghis Case

Gagik Jhangiryan is mixing something up. This was stated by the former military prosecutor and chief prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan in an interview with 168.am, referring to Gagik Jhangiryan's statement yesterday that Gevorg Kostanyan had maintained the same opinion and carried the case through to the end, as Jhangiryan claims.

Kostanyan specifically noted, "I have not held the same opinion, nor have I carried the case in the same manner until the end as Gagik Jhangiryan insists. I have reclassified the act. I was appointed military prosecutor in 2013. The investigation of the Mataghis case began in 2007, and by the time I became military prosecutor, that case had already passed through the entire judicial system once, was overturned by the Court of Cassation, and had been under examination in the first instance court for a long time."

Gevorg Kostanyan emphasized that he became military prosecutor at a time when the Mataghis case was already in court for a long time. The former military prosecutor noted that he defended the charges in the court within the framework of the evidence present in the case.

“Moreover, within the framework of the evidence present in the case, I mitigated and reclassified the charges—from murder to causing serious bodily harm. Prior to my tenure, the military prosecutor for 8 years was Armen Khachatryan, who carried the charges defended by Jhangiryan to court without change. The Court of Cassation annulled the case, sending it back to the first instance court, and after about 2 years of the case being examined there, I became the military prosecutor and reclassified the charges,” said Gevorg Kostanyan.

In any case, Gevorg Kostanyan denies Gagik Jhangiryan's statement, noting that there is at least a difference in the severity of the penalties in carrying the case in the same manner and in reclassifying the act, not to mention the moral aspect of the issue.

Earlier, we reported that yesterday in Parliament, former military prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan met with the “My Step” faction from the National Assembly, which proposed him for a vacant position on the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). During a press briefing after the meeting, journalists specifically noted that according to human rights defenders, Gagik Jhangiryan cannot be an objective member of the SJC, citing the famous Mataghis case, for which the charges were defended by former military prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan. The question clearly irritated Gagik Jhangiryan.

“Which crime was covered up during my time as prosecutor? Why is the case still being investigated by the investigative department for 2 years? Why haven’t the real criminals been exposed if they exist, and why hasn’t any charge been brought against me by the previous authorities for committing a crime there?” Gagik Jhangiryan said.

He added that when the accused in the Mataghis case were released from detention, he was already serving in the Office of the Chief Prosecutor, and the military prosecutor was Armen Khachatryan.