Today, on 22 December the Court of Appeal published its decision on the case of the death of 2.5-yer-old Lia Misakyan.
There were mediations during the previous court session, but the court, under the presiding judge Gagik Avetisyan, returned from the deliberation room published the verdict immediately without touching upon the mediations. The court decided to reject the appeal upholding the verdict of the First Instance Court.
The trial was not attended neither by Artur Sakunts, the successor of the injured party, nor the defenders of the defendants Yerem Sargsyan and Givi Hovhannisyan and the accusing prosecutor.
Notably, on 31 December 2012, 2.5-year-old child Lia Misakyan had fever and convulses. Her father took her to “Arabkir” Medical Center on an ambulance. The child died on 2 January 2013. According to the verdict of the First Instance Court the child died because the pediatricians of Arabkir Medical Centre Lilit Vardanyan and Zarine Ayvazyan did not carry out their responsibilities properly, and demonstrated a careless treatment. The court found them guilty in the act committed, but the defendants were released from the main punishment under the amnesty act.
Artur Sakunts, the representative of the aggrieved appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal. He claimed to quash the verdict of the First Instance Court, to make the sentence harsher and to assign an additional punishment to Lilit Vardanyan and Zarine Ayvazyan by depriving them of their right to engage in certain activities for 3 and 2 years respectively.
After the sentence was published Georgy Misakyan,, Lia Misakyan’s father told us that such a decision was not unpredictable for him, however he will continues to fight and will apply to the Court of Cassation and later to the European Court of Human Rights. “They must be punished, they shall not go home with a smile on their faces. I will do everything and they are going to spend a lot of money and to spoil nerves to understand the three days of sufferings of my child,” Mr. Misakyan said.
During the interview with iravaban.net the advocate Givi Hovhannisyan stated that the court has rejected the mediations, otherwise it would not have made the decision today.
Gevorg Tosunyan
