Court Case on 'Substandard Missiles' to be Held Behind Closed Doors, Defendants Oppose

Judge Manvel Shahverdyan has decided to hold the court proceedings regarding the 'substandard missiles' case behind closed doors; however, the defendants are opposed to this decision. This was stated by the attorney of former head of the Armed Forces Aviation Avetik Muradyan, Yerem Sargsyan.

Sargsyan noted that the prosecution has requested the hearing to be held in secrecy, but all defendants and their lawyers have disagreed with this. Furthermore, they have proposed that the case be examined in a semi-closed regime, but the court has decided to reject these motions and not allow journalists and public representatives into the courtroom.

The attorney pointed out that both the investigative bodies and the prosecution, along with some officials, have published details of the case, making the claim of confidentiality unnecessary in this situation. However, attorneys suspect that the case assignment was conducted in a non-electronic manner. According to Sargsyan, the case has been assigned to Shahverdyan in violation of the procedures, in a non-alphabetical order as required by regulations.

“If the assignment was indeed done by hand and with a procedural breach, we will request that the judge recuse himself,” he said.

It should be noted that on September 30, the National Security Service announced that Davit Tonoyan and Davit Galstyan, involved in arms supply, were arrested on suspicion of large-scale theft.