COURT OF APPEAL REJECTED THE COMPLAINT OF NGNGO ATTORNEY ON THE CASE OF MURDER ATTEMPT AGAINST TRANSGENDER WOMAN
The examination of the appeal on the murder attempt against transgender person E.A. submitted by Ara
Gharagyozyan, attorney of New Generation Humanitarian NGO, was held on May 26, 2021, in the Criminal Court of Appeal (Court) of the Republic of Armenia with the participation of judges Andranik Mnatsakanyan, Mher Arghamanyan and Mkhitar Papoyan. The attorney had appealed to the Court to overturn, change the judgment of February 3, 2021 of the Court of First Instance of the city of Yerevan, and send the case to the lower court for fresh investigation.
The prosecutor of the case did not appear at the examination of the appeal.
On the same day, the decision was published, according to which the Court rejected the appeal submitted by
Ara Gharagyozyan.
Pre-history of the case:
After having used trans person E. A. ‘s services, a visitor, learning about the person’s gender identity, burned the latter’s apartment and left. The aggrieved person received severe body injuries and burns. E․A. refused to use the services of her former lawyer and applied to New Generation Humanitarian NGO who provided the victim with attorney’s services represented by Ara Gharagyozyan.
Until present day the judges presiding the trial have changed 3 times, as a result of which the case trial has started from the beginning every time and has not come to its end.
The defendant made a petition for speedy trial of the case. The accuser made no objections to the presented petition. Despite the objections and grounds presented by the victim’s attorney, on January 21, 2021, the Court made a decision to conduct a speedy trial.
According to the court decision, the defendant was found guilty of the crime under part 1 of Article 112 of the
Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia on February 3, 2021 and was sentenced to imprisonment.The final punishment was imprisonment for 3 years, 5 months, 28 days. However, by application of the law of the Republic of Armenia on “Announcing criminal cases’ amnesty on the occasion of the 2800th anniversary of the founding of Erebuni-Yerevan and the 100th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia”, the defendant was freed from serving the sentence imposed for the crime. The preventive measure of signature about not leaving the country imposed on the defendant was also removed.
On March 17, 2021 Ara Gharagyozyan, the attorney of New Generation Humanitarian NGO, filed an appeal against the decision of the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan city with a request to overturn and change the decision of the Court of General Justification of Yerevan city and send the case to lower court for fresh examination.
The appeal filled by the lawyer on March 26, 2021 was accepted into proceeding by the Criminal Court of Appeal.