On 28 October, the regular court hearing on the murder of Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute student Haykaz Barseghyan was held at the Avan residence of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, presided over by Judge David Harutyunyan.

During the hearing, the defense filed a motion to order a new forensic examination of the blood found on the razor blade used by defendant Gnel Tevosyan, who allegedly cut Haykaz Barseghyan’s vein. It was also suggested that a new forensic examination of the ring found on the neck of the victim should be performed.

“The examination may lead to new circumstances and it will be clear what circumstances led to Haykaz Barseghyan’s death. It may also turn out that there are fingerprints of others on the ring, and even Haykaz Barseghyan’s,” defendant Gnel Tevosyan’s attorney Ara Zakaryan said.

The prosecution objected to the motion, saying it would be a waste of resources and time, as it has already been proven that Gnel Tevosyan’s and Vache Sahakyan’s fingerprints are on the razor blade, and that it proves that Haykaz Barseghyan was not a suicide.

“The former forensic examination has already proved that the wires were with the defendants and we cannot exclude that even if Haykaz Barseghyan’s fingerprints are found, they may be due to resistance,” the victim’s legal representative said.

After spending 30 minutes in the consultation room, the court issued a ruling granting defense request for a new expert examination.

The court hearing was postponed.

Diana Harutyunyan