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Prosecutor in Theft Case Had Difficulty Reading in Court

Prosecutor Titan Uzoyan was having difficulty reading at the April 3 Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan hearing in the case of Ashot Arushanyan and Edgar Karakeshishyan. This news was conveyed to Epress.am by Helsinki Association for Human Rights observers Arman Veziryan and Eduard Danielyan. 

According to the observers, Judge Mesrop Makyan came to the prosecutor's aid. "It can be assumed that the prosecutor either was completely unfamiliar with the case or simply didn't know how to read," Danielyan told Epress.am. 

During the hearing, the testimonies of witnesses were read and the stage whereupon the evidence is examined was declared. 

One of the witnesses is Edgar Karakeshishyan's brother, who is a former police officer and is currently in Russia. 

According to the written testimony, he went with his brother Edgar Karakeshishyan and Artashes Galustyan to the tourist agency across from the Shahumyan school where they purchased two tickets to Russia. Where the money came from, the witness wrote that he didn't know. 

The other witness is an acquaintance with whom Karakeshishyan has met several times, who wrote that he had to go to Russia, but also did not know where the money came from. 

The third witness, also a former police officer and later National Security Service employee, wrote that he spoke with Galustyan's father, who said that Karakeshishyan is threatening his son and putting pressure on him in prison. These testimonies became grounds to speculation that Karakeshishyan stole money. 

According to the indictment put forth by Prosecutor Tigran Uzoyan, on Nov. 21, 2011, the defendants organized the theft of 56 million AMD (about $135,000 USD) from Manana Grain Deputy Director Armen Manukyan's car. Information about the money was provided by HSBC Bank Armenia Risk Officer, Strategic Defense From Cancer NGO Chair Ashot Arushanyan. The defendants claim they are innocent. 

"There is no evidence in the case that Ashot Arushanyan provided information to anyone about the amount of the money taken to the bank by Manana Grain or about its delivery," said Arushanyan's attorney, Liparit Simonyan.