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When I was studying the cases on yesterday’s agenda of Criminal Court of Appeals, the victim’s name over one of the cases turned out to have been disseminated via a number of media sources regarding a brutal murder case.

It is the case of 59-year-old Svetlana Kazazyan, who was cruelly murdered on the night of October 6 at one of the Zakaryan street grocery stores in Vanadzor during a heavy rain. The shop owner’s neck was cut off from ear to ear. According to disseminated rumors, the murder might have been connected with her son Colonel Movses Iskandaryan’s activities, a police official attached to the Vanadzor Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

This version seems to be gradually confirmed. Before passing to the murder aftermath, it is worth noting that several days before the murder Svetlana Kazazyan’s shop had been burgled. On March 24, 2011 Lori Region Court of First Instance made an immediate resolution to sentence Spitak resident 27-year-old Argam Arghamanyan to a 3-year-old imprisonment by adding up to the sentence term for another robbery he had committed previously. Yesterday, the verdict was being appealed by the Criminal Court of Appeals and the defendant was pleading to nullify the verdict regarding the sentence and waive the appointed verdict on condition, by replacing it with a more lenient punishment.

As to the cruel murder on October 6, the revenge version was considered to be the most likely one (though it was officially refuted), since it was a brutal murder and the killer had not taken anything from the shop. However, the post-murder events were a little unusual and yielded unexpectedly cruel consequences.  Pursuant to a message disseminated on the following day, Slavik Voskanyan, who was charged with the crimes committed against Vanadzor residents Svetlana Kazazyan and Astghik Aghabekyan, was arrested on October 7 and later placed in prison by Court’s decision. 17 days after the imprisonment Slavik Voskanyan was found dead at “Vanadzor” Penitentiary.

According to the preliminary medical diagnosis, S. Voskanyan died from a gas gangrene caused by injection of spit into his left lower extremity. And though the interrogator was attempting to assure there was no sign of scratch on Slavik’s body when he was taken to his isolation cell, however, it was obvious from his letter addressed to Artur Sakunts, head of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor, that both psychological and physical pressure had been exerted upon him at Police Department.

Earlier, we had a meeting with Shushanik, wife of 33 year-old (he had 4 kids) Slavik. After seeing the handwriting in the letter, she confirmed its validity, because the handwriting and the style, as well as the content matched with what she had heard or known regarding the fatal day. But Slavik knew he could never get out of prison and, perhaps, that is why he was seeking for ways “to get out” of there. When he was being moved from Vanadzor Police Department designated for detainees to “Vanadzor” Detention Facility, he told his wife, “This is our last meeting; you’ll see I won’t be back…”

During those days Shushanik was allowed to have short appointments with her husband.
She told “Zhamanak”, “When I went to meet him with my baby (10-month old), Slavik cried a lot just before being taken to prison, and told it was our last meeting because he was being moved, however, I had visited him several times 2 days prior to it and he was in normal mood, but later he was already heartbroken, since it was impossible to become so much desperate in one day to say he would never be back again, how would he know he would not be back…

Before that, he had been promised to be taken to a psychiatric institution where he would be pleaded innocent, he would get treatment and would be released. On the third day he told me that it was our last meeting and he would not be back, he also told me he had not committed the crime and I believe him, because he was at home during the time of the murder.” And what did she talk to her husband about during his stay at “Vanadzor” Penitentiary? Shushanik mentioned she did not believe the version of a suicide, “Even if he injected his spit into his leg, it was all to be quickly taken to “penitentiary hospital for convicts”.

On Thursday, on the night of 21, he told me on the phone that he had injected spit, he said he felt sick and was lying in bed and could not walk… He also stated that the prosecutor had seen his condition but had told he would not be taken to hospital… He loved life so much, especially when I told him I would go to see the prosecutor on Monday to submit a complaint to have him taken to hospital. He asked me not to postpone, but he died on Sunday (2 days later). Maybe our phone conversation had been monitored by a covert listening device and they knew I was going to go to Yerevan…”

The rest can be figured out from the letter addressed to Artur Sakunts, where he described his daily routine, he even confessed that he assaulted a woman at approximately 23: 50 p.m. on October 6, and after grasping the woman’s handbag he went to an internet club but did not have any connection with Svetlana Kazazyan’s murder (the letter is presented below without corrections).

“At 01:34 a.m. the police arrested me in the internet club. After my arrest, a number of police officers exerted psychological pressure upon me 4 days in a row and during all 4 days I was not allowed to rest as they were claiming they would harm my family. By using different disgraceful words they were trying to blame the murder on me and were telling specific details about the murder and the store, including its exterior and interior.

They shifted and I stayed there to be interrogated, they were only gave me
a heart disease medication, as they knew I had a heart disease. I was taken to various rooms where they continued torturing me. They would not let me sleep or eat; they only gave me coffee, pills and cigarettes. I must mention that before bringing up the accusation I was sent to be beaten for 2-3 hours. By seeing that the exerted pressure did not work out, they, for the third time, allowed me to have a 5-minute meeting with my wife where she told she had already been threatened. I had my meeting in Police chief A. Avetisyan’s (Sergey Avetisyan) office and when my wife left he said no matter who the real murderer was, they thought it was me and threatened me that in case my family members were run over by a car, nobody would know who they were killed by.  I was scared they would harm my family and I begged the chief not to touch them with a condition I would admit the murder was me.

I want to mention that I am not aware of the murder, I have not committed it and I did not know the victim at all and I got all details about the shop and the murder from the police officials during the 4 days.  One of the police officials unlocked my handcuffs and when I made no attempt to run, he taunted me by saying I did not have the nerve to run. On that same night they told me they had given me a chance to run and told they would shoot me for the sake of their friend’s mother… Mr. Sakunts I am begging you to consider all the circumstances. I repeat again, I have not committed a murder, I only admitted the crime, because I was afraid the police officials would do harm to my family.”

Taking this letter as basis, Artur Sakunts filed a claim against SIS over exceeding the official authorizations by the police officers. In the future, we will again address this case to understand why encroachments are always made against the same Police officer’s relative and his property.

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