Man Who Shot Luzahovit Village Mayor Released

On June 14, in the city of Ijevan, a man fired a hunting rifle at Grigor Sarhatyan, the mayor of Luzahovit community in the Ijevan region, born in 1984. When G. Sarhatyan exited his vehicle, the assailant shot him in the leg. He suffered a gunshot wound to the lower third of his right thigh, a comminuted open fracture with displacement, and traumatic shock, and was transported to the 'Erebuni' medical center in Yerevan, where his leg was amputated.

In Ijevan, it is noted that the motive for this crime involves historical grievances between the alleged perpetrator and G. Sarhatyan, which were addressed at the residence of a mutual acquaintance.

Grigor Sarhatyan, a father of three and caretaker of his wife, mother, and grandmother, was elected as the mayor of Luzahovit on December 3, 2018. Following the incident, the RA Investigative Committee's Tavush Regional Investigative Department initiated criminal proceedings under the first part of Article 112 and the first part of Article 235 of the Criminal Code ('Acquisition, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, ammunition not including smoothbore firearms and their cartridges, military-grade ammunition, explosives or explosive devices').

According to the 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper sources from law enforcement, on July 28, Edmond Edilyan, a 1977-born resident of Ijevan, was arrested on suspicion of committing this crime. After 72 hours following his arrest, the preliminary investigation body petitioned the Tavush Regional Court to impose detention as a measure of restraint against Edilyan, which was contested by his attorney.

Judge Rafik Melkonyan of the Tavush Regional Court rejected the petition to impose detention on Edilyan, and he was subsequently released. In the near future, the preliminary investigation body is expected to submit a petition for the detention of Edilyan as a suspect in the criminal case. This petition will be reviewed by a different judge at the Tavush Regional Court. It should be noted that the investigation of this criminal case is being conducted by the Tavush Regional Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee.