YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–On December 2–the court hearing the Armen Ter-Sahakian case decided to adjourn judicial inquests until December 20 following a petition from defendant Aghasi Avetissian’s second lawyer–invited the same day. The lawyer asked the court to provide him with some time to study the case material.
The new adjournment of the trial caused a storm of protest among the defendants–including Armen Ter-Sahakian–who started howling and whining.
The previous day defendants Marzpet Grigorian and Avag Davtian dismissed their only lawyers Amalia Avagian and Hamest Muradian. They declared that they would continue defending by themselves. Thus–three of the nine defendants in the case have no counsel–including defendant Arshak Shukhian–who refused to be defended by a lawyer at an early stage of the trial. Grigorian and Davtian–though–may ask for new lawyers.