New Judge to Hear Case of Samvel Babayan

The case of former Minister of Defense of Nagorno-Karabakh, Samvel Babayan, has once again been assigned to the judge Gagik Poghosyan of the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction. This information has been obtained from the 'Datalex' information system.

Recall that on June 15 of last year, the Court of Cassation released Samvel Babayan, who had been sentenced to six years in prison by the first instance court. After being in detention for one year and three months, the preventive measure for the former Minister of Defense of Nagorno-Karabakh was changed based on recommendations from more than ten deputies from the 'Tsarukyan' and 'Yelk' factions. Meanwhile, the defense was demanding acquittal.

The Court of Cassation simultaneously annulled the decision of the first instance court and sent the case for re-examination. On November 28, 2017, Samvel Babayan, former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Judge Arshak Vardanyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction found him guilty on two charges: procuring a Igla-class anti-aircraft missile system and circulating counterfeit money. Babayan's combat associate, Sanasar Gabrielian, was sentenced to three years in prison, while Armen Poghosyan received two years. Other defendants in the case, Karen and Andranik Kocharyan, Davit Harutyunyan, and Zhora Zakaryan, received two years of conditional imprisonment.

After the appeal, the case was assigned to Judge Marine Melkonyan of the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction. However, after scheduling eight court hearings, she was reassigned. Judge Gagik Poghosyan has already set a date for the hearing. The first session of the case will take place on July 19.