Vahan Hovhannisyan, the lawyer for Narek Ohanyan, who is accused of murdering Volodya Grigoryan, the mayor of the Parakar community, and police officer Karen Abrahamyan, wrote:
“Two days ago, the Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee announced that a criminal case had been opened against Narek Ohanyan for aiding and abetting a crime in the Merdzavan murder case.
I repeat: for aiding and abetting, not for directly committing the crime.
Eight days have passed since the tragic incident, and despite the Investigative Committee Chairman’s statement, Narek Ohanyan has been charged not with aiding and abetting a past crime, but with directly committing the crime.
Moreover, the court found reasonable grounds for suspicion that Narek Ohanyan directly committed the murders, and on this basis granted the motion for pretrial detention.
“Therefore, according to the statement of the head of the criminal investigation department, Narek Ohanyan is merely an accomplice, but is currently in custody as the direct perpetrator of the crime. How—I don’t know.”