‘Pashinyan Issued a Conviction in the Case of Gayane Hakobyan During His Press Conference,’ Says Lawyer

The case of Gayane Hakobyan has been ongoing for five days, but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has already stated that he issued a conviction, effectively closing any legal proceedings in this case by noting that a kidnapping occurred.

Vahan Hovhannisyan, the lawyer for Gayane Hakobyan, the mother of soldier Zhora Martirosyan who was killed in the 44-day war, made these remarks to journalists in front of the government. He was speaking about Pashinyan's declarations regarding the ‘kidnapping case’ of Ashot Pashinyan during the press conference.

According to the lawyer, Prime Minister Pashinyan should not make such statements that violate the presumption of innocence, as no one – neither the investigator, the prosecutor, nor the court – can confirm whether Ms. Hakobyan committed the alleged crime or not. ‘At this point, we only have suspicions leading to charges. A person's guilt is established through a conviction. We must refrain from such statements, as all our hopes related to this case will be dashed,’ said Vahan Hovhannisyan.