Armenia family that fled to Azerbaijan and returned has public defender

YEREVAN. – The second trial date is set in the case of Armenia’s Gevorgyan family, which had fled to Azerbaijan and then returned.

Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the Judicial Information System of Armenia that the next respective court session is scheduled for August 28.

The first court hearing on August 13 was adjourned, since the Gevorgyan couple had no attorney.

So, the court decided to petition to the Public Defender’s Office with a request for assigning them an attorney.

The next hearing date was not set at that time, until the Public Defender’s Office had assigned them an attorney.

According to the indictment, on January 10, 2010, Yeghishe Gevorgyan—together with his wife, Ruzanna Mardanyan, and three underage children—drove with his vehicle, and under high speed, toward the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, did not obey the border guards’ cautionary measures, and crossed into Nakhijevan, Azerbaijan.  

The Gevorgyan family, however, returned to Armenia on December 12, 2014.

Criminal charges have been brought against Gevorgyan and his wife. A signature bond on not leaving Armenia has been enforced as their restraining order.

Yeghishe Gevorgyan had been convicted eight times prior to this incident. And at the time of illegally crossing the border, he was suspected of involvement in a serious crime.