Judge in Vardan Petrosian case denies recusation motion

At the court hearing in the actor Vardan Petrosian case today, Judge Yuri Baghdasarian denied the motion of his recusation. Petrosian’s lawyer Nikolai Baghdasarian told the correspondent of Aysor.am that there are not any grounds for Vardan Petrosian’s arrest and for holding court sittings behind closed doors.

‘The only argument is that Vardan Petrosian was not at home, but they knew his whereabouts. There is no document proving that after his release from the hospital, Vardan Petrosian went into hiding. After his release from hospital, Vardan Petrosian lived in his sister’s apartment. Court sittings are held behind closed doors because they have no grounds,” the lawyer said.

The next court sitting is due at 10:00 am January 22.

Around 10:10 pm on October 20 of last year, two cars – a GAZ-21214 and a BMW-320 collided at the 2nd km of Yeghvard-Yerevan Highway. The driver of VAZ and six passengers were hospitalized with injuries. Two of the passengers – Edgar and Edward Hakobians died in the hospital.

A criminal case was opened under Article 242 part 3 of the Criminal Code. On November 9 the Kotayk regional court of general jurisdiction granted the investigatory body’s petition and chose arrest as a measure of restraint for Vardan Petrosian.