Trial in the Case of Brutally Murdered Cadet Comes to a Close; Relatives Demand Life Imprisonment

The trial of the case surrounding the murder of Haykaz Barseghyan, a cadet of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute, has reached its final phase. Prosecutor Vigen Harutyunyan presented a closing argument for the prosecution during the proceedings.

For defendants Gnel Tevosyan and Vache Sahakyan, the prosecutor requested 20 years of imprisonment, while for Norik Sahakyan and Movses Azaryan, he asked for 18 years.

In an interview with NEWS.am, the father of the murdered cadet, Arkadi Barseghyan, insisted that all four defendants should be sentenced to life imprisonment. He expressed dissatisfaction with the prosecutor's remarks. “I still don’t understand the prosecutors' approach. Their justification is that the defendants are young and have just turned 18. We emphasized in our statement that we demand life imprisonment. The judge will make the final decision. We will see whether the judicial system is alive or dead. The prosecutor told me during the recess that it’s not up to us; it’s up to the judge. I said, 'Then you should have called for life in your argument.'

“The prosecutor told me they investigated the murders and concluded that this is the appropriate punishment for those aged 18-20. I said, 'Well, what level of brutal murder should occur in Armenia for you to say, “sentence to life”?'” said the father.

Arkadi Barseghyan pointed out that all four defendants deny their charges. “These four scoundrels act as though they have performed a heroic deed, standing and saying, ‘We didn’t do it.’ I was told the harshest punishment would come. They say they are 18-20 years old; well, Haykaz wasn’t 50 years old—he was 19. People were shocked that 18-year-olds carried out such a brutal murder. I am convinced they have bribed people in higher positions and prepared this kind of reasoning,” he said.

According to him, this is the least penalty for such a serious crime. Addressing the evidence present in the case, Arkadi Barseghyan noted that there are not only physical pieces of evidence but also six eyewitnesses who personally witnessed the murder. “The Investigative Committee didn’t just arrest these scoundrels for no reason. The witnesses provided detailed accounts of how the incident unfolded. There is also physical evidence, yet they continue to deny their guilt. In the courtroom, the guilt of the defendants has been thoroughly established. So far, the defense insists it was a suicide. If the court sentences the defendants to 20 years, and they have already spent 5 years in custody, that means they will serve just 15 years. The defenders will also file a petition for amnesty and possibly fight for early release, and this is how justice will 'prevail' in Armenia,” he added.

As a reminder, Haykaz Barseghyan was murdered on January 29, 2015. That morning, his body was discovered hanging from a horizontal bar in the courtyard of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute. The accused in the murder are Vache Sahakyan, Movses Azaryan, Norik Sahakyan, and Gnel Tevosyan, who are Barseghyan's fellow servicemen. According to the indictment, the defendants killed Haykaz in the night while he was in bed and then hanged him in the institute's sports area to create the impression of suicide.