The Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia has accomplished the preliminary investigation of the criminal case launched with regard to giving obvious false testimonies by the citizen Artur Karapetyan against the Chief Investigator of “Vayots Dzor” Investigation Department of the Investigation Committee of the Republic of Armenia Hrachya Poghosyan in accordance with Part 1 of Article 333 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.
The preliminary investigation revealed that during the preliminary investigation of the criminal case reviewed with regard to the commission of hooliganism in the Investigation Committee of the Republic of Armenia, a citizen Artur K. was interrogated as a witness for two times. During the first interrogation Artur K. testified that he had witnessed the quarrel between his friend and the citizens Lazar and Ashot. At that time he learnt that Lazar had stabbed his friend’s father with a knife and the latter was carried to the hospital. At the stage of the judicial examination of the criminal case when Artur K. testified that he was unaware of anything, his pretrial testimony was promulgated, due to which the latter informed that he had not given any testimonies with such content to the preliminary investigation authority. The judge requested Artur K. to study his own testimonies given during the preliminary investigation and find out that it had not been written with his own handwriting and that the signature was forged. Thereafter, Artur K. filed a report with the police department which stated that the investigator reviewing the criminal case had falsified his preliminary investigation testimonies, drew up a false protocol about interrogation and forged the signature.
As a result of the forensic handwriting expertise set during the preliminary investigation of the criminal case launched in the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia in accordance with Part 1 of Article 314 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, it was revealed that the handwritten records made in the name of Artur K. in the protocol of interrogation of a witness, as well as the signatures were made by Artur K. himself.
During the additional interrogation about the expert opinion, Artur K. declared that the reason that he had reported to the police department about the allegedly falsification of his testimonies was that in such a manner he would be helpful to his friend. During the preliminary investigation Artur K. who was charged with giving false testimonies, admitted that he had been twice interrogated by the investigator who was in charge of reviewing the criminal case and during both of the times he personally wrote and signed the testimony.
Under the new criminal case launched in accordance with Part 1 of Article 333 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia based on the criminal materials prepared in the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia, Artak K. was accused of the fact that he having been warned of the liability to give obvious false testimonies, being aware that the information granted by him was false, provided false testimonies, i.e. he had accused the Chief Investigator of Especially Important Cases of Vayots Dzor Investigation Administration of the Investigation Committee of the Republic of Armenia for making employment-related falsifications.
It should be reminded that the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia resolved not to institute criminal proceeding against the Chief Investigator of Especially Important Cases and quash the criminal proceeding as to the commission of employment-related falsification on the grounds of the absence of the criminal act.
The investigator accomplishing the preliminary investigation sent the criminal case along with the indictment to the prosecutor in charge of exercising a judicial control for the approval and referral thereof to the court.
A preliminary investigation is underway.
Note: The suspect or the accused of the alleged offence is deemed innocent unless his or her innocence is proved by virtue of the effective court verdict in the manner prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.
