Defence associates Khandoyan's death with beating at court

The state of health of Araik Khandoyan, a member of the "Sasna Tsrer" armed detachment, worsened during his detention, his advocates have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today Varuzhan Avetisyan, another member of the detachment, said that Araik Khandoyan had died without specifying the circumstances and cause of his death.

According to preliminary data, Araik Khandoyan died at night on October 10 in Gyumri from a heart attack, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the office of the "Constituent Parliament".

The advocates have linked Khandoyan's death with his beating in the court building and his custody conditions.

"On December 30, 2017, Khandoyan was placed into the dungeon (punishment cell) with inhuman conditions. It was cold there; besides, in the basement of the courthouse, 15 policemen beat Khandoyan up and tortured him," Ara Karagezyan, an advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Ara Papikyan, another advocate, also believes that "the beating in the basement of the courthouse has affected Araik Khandoyan's health." According to his version, Khandoyan had health problems, but his condition worsened sharply on June 28, when an incident in the courthouse occurred. "I am sure that Khandoyan at least suffered a brain concussion; he had severe headaches, not to mention various bodily injuries," Mr Papikyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 10, 2018 at 04:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.