The court’s decision followed a motion by the prosecution, which argued that a new forensic examination could help clarify whether Poghosian sustained bone fractures indicating intentional assault.
“We may have a significantly different picture, and the expected result is that bone fractures may be found,” prosecutor Tsovak Mnatsakanian said in court, citing a witness account that mentioned possible blows inflicted with a pistol grip.
The ruling comes as part of a renewed trial over Poghosian’s 2001 death, which occurred at Yerevan’s Aragast café, then a popular venue for jazz concerts also known as Poplavok. Poghosian, a 43-year-old ethnic Armenian from Georgia, was found dead in the café restroom shortly after Kocharian left the premises with his entourage.
Prosecutors at the time said Poghosian died after falling and hitting the toilet floor with the back of his head during a dispute with one of Kocharian’s bodyguards, Aghamal Harutiunian, known as “Kuku.” They claimed the scuffle broke out after the bodyguard “reprimanded” Poghosian for greeting the president in a way he found too familiar.
Some eyewitnesses, however, alleged that Poghosian was attacked and forced into the restroom by several men who appeared to be security agents. Among the witnesses was a friend of Poghosian’s who was seated with him that evening.
Harutiunian was the only member of Kocharian’s security detail prosecuted in connection with the incident. A Yerevan district court convicted him of involuntary manslaughter in February 2002 and handed down a suspended two-year prison sentence, backing the official version of events. The verdict drew sharp criticism from Poghosian’s relatives, friends, and Kocharian’s political opponents, who accused authorities of a cover-up.
A new investigation into Poghosian’s death began only after Armenia’s 2018 “Velvet Revolution” and the subsequent prosecution of Kocharian on coup and corruption charges, which the former president dismissed as politically motivated.
The case was reopened after British citizen Steven Newton, who was present at the café the night Poghosian died, repeated earlier claims that several presidential bodyguards had beaten the victim.
In January 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor-General asked the Court of Appeals to overturn the 2002 verdict and order a retrial, saying new evidence indicated that Poghosian’s death had been a “murder committed by a group of individuals.” The court granted the request, sending the case back to a Yerevan court of first instance.
During the proceedings, Newton has provided conflicting testimony. Years ago, he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that Harutiunian struck Poghosian with the handle of his gun as the victim lay on the floor, nearly unconscious. But in recent court testimony, Newton said he had not seen Harutiunian strike Poghosian.
Citing these inconsistencies, prosecutors requested the exhumation, a repeat forensic examination, and a renewed hearing of Newton’s testimony.
During the retrial Harutiunian’s lawyers denied the new and more serious accusations against the former security officer.