David Tonoyan Submits Recusal Motion Against Judge for Lack of Diligence

Former Armenian Minister of Defense David Tonoyan has submitted a recusal motion against Judge Vahe Dolmazyan, stating that the court has not shown proper diligence in ensuring the proceedings of the case, despite him being in custody for 1 year and 4 months.

This was reported by attorney Sergey Hovhannisyan to Factinfo. Today, a court session was held at the Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Vahe Dolmazyan, regarding the case of David Tonoyan, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Artak Davtyan, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff Stepan Galstyan, and others, during which the examination of written evidence continued.

Attorney Sergey Hovhannisyan informed that at the end of the session, David Tonoyan presented a recusal motion to the judge, arguing that he has been in custody for a long time—1 year and 4 months—while Judge Vahe Dolmazyan has not demonstrated special diligence in ensuring the proceedings of the case, as mandated by both criminal procedural law and a decision of the appellate court.

“Court sessions are being prolonged for predominantly subjective reasons, and scheduled hearings are often significantly shorter than anticipated, citing the court's heavy workload. It was noted in the motion that the delays in court sessions are being intentionally carried out by the judge to prevent neutralizing the sole basis for detention—interfering with witnesses,” Hovhannisyan stated, adding that the recusal motion was denied.

The attorney noted that the examination of written evidence has not yet concluded.

It is worth mentioning that David Tonoyan has been charged under part 3 of article 179 of the RA Criminal Code, Artak Davtyan under part 3 of article 375, Stepan Galstyan under parts 3 of article 375 and part 1 of article 314, Avetik Muradyan under part 3 of article 375 and part 1 of article 314, Vladimir Babayan under part 3 of article 375 and part 1 of article 314, Artyom Hambaryan under part 3 of article 375 and part 1 of article 314, and David Galstyan under part 3 of article 178 and part 1 of article 325.