Photo: Arkadya Hakobyan

Photo: Arkadya Hakobyan

Photo: Arkadya Hakobyan

Legal Victories

Arkadi Hakobyan's case has been dismissed, he is considered to have no criminal record

Kabardino-Balkaria

On March 1, 2019, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria overturned the conviction of Arkada Hakobyan from Prokhladny. The proceedings were discontinued. The decision takes effect immediately.

Earlier, the prosecutor asked for 3 years of suspended imprisonment for Arkadi Hakobyan. The Prokhladnensky District Court sentenced him to 120 hours of compulsory labor. In the meantime, an amendment was made to the Criminal Code, according to which Arkadya Hakobyan cannot be prosecuted under the article imputed to him (part 1 of article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

From the very beginning, the believer insisted on his complete innocence.

Case of Akopyan in Prokhladny

Case History
In the late 1980s, Arkadya Hakobyan, his wife and three children fled ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan. More than 25 years later, as a peaceful elderly man, Arkadia became a victim of religious repression. In June 2016, a criminal case was opened against him for a public speech in which he allegedly humiliated the dignity of followers of other religions. In May 2017, hearings began in the Prokhladnensky District Court, during which it turned out that the testimony of witnesses underlying the case was false, and the expert’s opinion was replete with errors. The prosecutor demanded 3 years of probation for the believer. In December 2018, Judge Oleg Golovashko sentenced the believer to 120 hours of compulsory labor. In March 2019, the Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic overturned the conviction. Hakobyan was cleared of all charges.
Timeline

Persons in case

Akopyan
Arkadya

Criminal case

Region:
Kabardino-Balkaria
Locality:
Prokhladny
Court case number:
73/27-16
Initiated:
June 11, 2016
Current case stage:
case dismissed
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-160/17
Court case number:
1-7/18
Outcome of the case:
дело прекращено, Аркадя Акопян считается несудимым
Investigated:
Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Considered by the Court of First Instance:
Prokhladnenskiy District Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Judge:
Oleg Golovashko
Court of Appeal:
Supreme Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Case History
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