Poghos Poghosyan (; 1958 – September 25, 2001) was an ethnic Armenian from the

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk (, ''Javakhk'')' is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turkey's Ardahan ...

region of Georgia. He was killed at Poplavok cafe in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

on September 25, 2001 by the bodyguards of then

President of Armenia The president of Armenia () is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Armenia. Under Armenia's parliamentary system, the president ...

Robert Kocharyan Robert Sedraki Kocharyan ( ; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second Presiden ...

. Kocharyan's bodyguards pleaded not guilty to the accusations. While at the cafe, a seated Poghosyan saw Kocharyan (a former classmate) leaving the cafe with

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

and greeted him by saying "Hi Rob" (պրիվետ Ռոբ, ''

privet A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees, with a native distribution from Europe to tropical and subtropical Asia, and with one species each ...

Rob'') as they left. This very casual greeting was taken as an insult by the president, and his bodyguards approached Poghosyan's table and asked to have a word with him. He was taken to the toilet where he was beaten and declared dead 10 minutes later by an ambulance paramedic. It took days for the media to report on this murder by the president's bodyguard, witnessed by hundreds of people.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

said that witnesses feared coming forward during the trial. The trial was quick, with one of President Kocharyan's bodyguards, Aghamal Harutiunyan, also known as Kuku, charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced with a year of probation. After the

2018 Armenian revolution The 2018 Armenian Revolution, most commonly known in Armenia as #MerzhirSerzhin (, meaning "#RejectSerzh"), was a series of anti-government protests in Armenia from April to May 2018 staged by various political and civil groups led by a member ...

this case was eventually reopened, with testimony by witness Steven Newton, which was not allowed in the original trial. Re-trial arguments are scheduled to be heard beginning February 27, 2020. In January 2020, prosecutors asked the Court of Appeals to overturn Aghamal Harutiunyan's guilty verdict and order a retrial. They said there was additional proof that the death was a murder committed by "a group of individuals." On July 6, 2020, the court accepted the request of prosecutors and the case was sent back to Yerevan's court of first instance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poghosyan, Poghos 1958 births Armenian murder victims People murdered in Armenia Georgian people of Armenian descent 2001 deaths 2000s murders in Armenia 2001 murders in Asia 2001 murders in Europe