Karin Tonoyan Issues Statement

Ultimately, we only want justice. We want to find out who killed our children, who is responsible, and if the Prime Minister is not to blame, then why are you so stubbornly refusing to initiate a case or summon him for interrogation? This was stated by Karin Tonoyan, mother of Artsakh hero Menua Hovhannisyan, addressing the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Gagik Jhangiryan.

“To Mr. Jhangiryan, President of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Armenia, and to Mr. Sahakyan, President of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Armenia: yesterday was another session regarding the appeal against the failure of the first-instance court to properly assess the report on initiating a criminal case against Nikol Pashinyan for apparent state treason. Once again, we, as parents, found ourselves voiceless in the courtroom (for the fourth time, we are still waiting to be recognized as interested parties), sitting in a hall where the air was suffocating every parent both psychologically and physically, to the point where there was a need for medication. After the second request for water (as we are prohibited from bringing water bottles inside), the one-time glasses provided by the court ran out, forcing us to either drink from their glasses or endure...

Now the question: Dear officials, do you not realize that these parents are in a border state of mind and incidents of psychological and health deterioration can happen at any moment? Why isn’t there a psychologist or a doctor in the room? Moreover, isn’t it possible to install a water dispenser in the corridor with disposable cups so we wouldn’t have to keep asking the police for water every minute? Mr. Jhangiryan, we are still waiting for an explanation about whose fault it was that the video of your second meeting with the parents was, according to your media, “accidentally” not recorded or “deleted.” Where is the “excessive care” of our authorities towards the parents, or is it only utilized for glorifying the “great lady”? Every time we meet, when will the multiple humiliations and condolences bear “fruit,” or are you only verbal authorities?

In any case, from today, our beleaguered court will be on vacation until the end of the month... but it is certainly understandable that our fight as parents does not take a vacation, and we hope that through our frequent visits, we will help you understand and accept the people whose children’s lives allow you to live, protected in your secure workplaces by hundreds of police officers (who we are not sure from whom) and go on vacation. We want just a little heart and compassion, a little justice, and a little respect for the pain that brings us to your door... Ultimately, we only want justice. We want to find out who killed our children, who is responsible, and if the Prime Minister is not to blame, then why are you so stubbornly refusing to initiate a case or summon him for interrogation...”

Regardless of whether you are with us or without us, we will reach the fair punishment of the guilty. Our children are waiting for that in the heavens, and I advise you not to leave the “honor” of fulfilling that demand and a thousand-fold blessings to others...

Finally, let me remind you that the court is an independent and self-sufficient body. According to the principle of separation of powers, the judicial authority is independent of the legislative and executive branches, and its activities can have an exclusive basis provided only by law and legislative regulation,” she wrote.