Trial in David Tonoyan’s case held amid protests

Today, a court has started to consider a case against David Tonoyan, the former Armenian Defence Minister. Activists who gathered in front of the courthouse have demanded a fair trial. The court hearing was held behind closed doors, despite the motion filed by the defence.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on September 30, 2021, the National Security Service of Armenia reported that former Armenian Defence Minister David Tonoyan was detained and arrested on suspicion of embezzling about 4.7 million US dollars in the supply of firearms.

Today, the Yerevan First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction has started the first court hearing in the case on embezzlement during the supply of firearms.

The court hearing took place against the backdrop of a protest action. According to the live video broadcast of the “News.am”, watched by the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent, the activists who gathered in front the court building were holding in their hands the posters reading: “We demand a fair trial” and “We demand an open and transparent trial”.

Armen Arutyunyan, an advocate of David Galstyan, reported that during the preliminary investigation, the defence filed a motion for the missiles to be tested to confirm the thesis about “spoiled missiles.” However, investigators dismissed the request of the defenders.

The advocate also noted that “all the nuances have been declassified in the case, and in this regard, the defence is petitioning for an open judicial investigation.” “Since there is no trust in the judiciary in the current situation, an open trial regime will be able to provide some degree of unbiased attitude,” the advocate said.

However, according to the defence, a judge decided to hold the court hearing behind closed doors.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 19, 2022 at 06:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.