Russian soldier accused of killing woman in Gyumri failed to appear at court for fifth time

The court session on the murder of Julietta Gukasyan in Gyumri has been postponed for the fifth time because of the non-appearance of the accused Russian soldier. The Russian party has demanded to ensure his safety. The command of the Russian military base does not want in principle to bring soldier Razgeldeev to court, Arthur Sakunts, a human rights defender, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on December 3, 2018, a 57-year-old resident of Gyumri, Julietta Gukasyan, was beaten up and later died at hospital. A Russian soldier was detained. Armenia handed him over to the Russian party; and he is kept under arrest in the Russian military base No. 102.

The soldier accused of killing the woman did not appear at the court session scheduled for February 4. His legal representative, Alexander Gladyshev, has provided a letter of the commander of the military base, requesting to postpone the session until the Armenian party provides written guarantees of security for soldier Razgeldeev and those who will accompany him, a court employee told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Russian party would not basically bring Razgeldeev to court, Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, who is representing the interests of Julietta's successors at the trial. The courthouse is a few hundred meters from the Russian military base; and the non-appearance of the accused soldier looks like a deliberately created obstacle to the administration of justice.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 5, 2020 at 06:47 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.