Court Resumes Investigation into the Murder Case of Poghos Poghosyan at Aragasht Cafe

The General Jurisdiction Court of Yerevan will resume the investigation into the murder of Poghos Poghosyan today, based on a complaint filed by the Prosecutor General's Office, which previously led to the overturning of the case by the Court of Appeals. Judge Karen Farkhoyan has been assigned to the case.

It is worth recalling that, as was the case 20 years ago, the defendant is Aghamal Harutyunyan, a member of Robert Kocharyan's security team. He is charged under the same article for causing death through negligence.

Last year, the Court of Appeals, granting the Prosecutor General's complaint, overturned the verdict of 2002 related to the murder of Poghos Poghosyan in central Yerevan and referred the case for a new examination. According to a statement released by the Prosecutor's Office, substantial new information has come to light from the applications and interrogations of eyewitnesses, indicating that Poghos Poghosyan was not killed by negligence, but rather deliberately murdered by a group of individuals due to hooligan motivations. "In other words, new circumstances have emerged that may prove that the convicted person allegedly committed a more serious crime—murder under aggravating circumstances—than that for which he was previously convicted. Furthermore, this provides apparent evidence of the participation of other individuals in the commission of the crime," the Prosecutor's Office stated.

Aghamal Harutyunyan was found guilty of causing death through criminal negligence under Article 103 of the previous Criminal Code of the RA. The Court established that on September 25, 2001, around 00:30, there was a mutual struggle and exchanged blows between him and Poghos Poghosyan, who was under the influence of alcohol, in the restroom of the "Aragasht" cafe. During this, Poghos Poghosyan fell backward, striking the back of his head against the tiled floor of the restroom, which resulted in fatal cranio-cerebral injuries. By a verdict on February 21, 2002, Aghamal Harutyunyan was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, with the imposed sentence conditionally not applied and a probation period of one year established.