Vladik Martirosyan used the same axe to murder his former mother-in-law that Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov had used to kill his sleeping Armenian fellow, yet his act has not received equivalent attention in the Armenian society, Coalition to Stop Violence against Women coordinator, women's rights activist Zara Hovhannisyan said today during a discussion in Yerevan on Martirosyan's July 8 vicious attack on his ex-wife Taguhi Mansuryan's family in which he axed his former mother-in-law to death and left Mansuryan and her father seriously injured.

According to various reports, Vladik Martirosyan was found guilty in 2015 of having subjected his then-wife to domestic violence on at least three separate occasions; however, he never actually served any time in prison thanks to a Yerevan judge's decision to impose a six-month suspended sentence against him. Hence, Zara Hovhannisyan argued, the woman's death was a result of the state's failure to protect her right to life. “The person who subjected his then-wife to multiple acts of violence managed somehow to avoid imprisonment. So what authorities are basically saying is 'she's just a woman; she'll eventually reconcile and forget [about the past violence]'.”

Women's Resource Center representative Tatevik Aghabekyan, in turn, insisted that “each and everyone of us – public organizations, journalists and especially the police – is responsible for the July 8 events.”

Police spokeswoman, colonel Nelly Duryan, however, countered to this, claiming that law enforcement authorities had done everything in their power to prevent the killing. “We had even visited this family and had individual conversations with each of the members,” she argued.

Zara Hovhannisyan, for her part, called into question the police's “appropriate conduct,” noting that the walls of the room where the discussion was being held were covered with images of law enforcement officers' brutal actions against Electric Yerevan demonstrators. “These are pictures that testify to police's actual behaviour,” the activist said. She then added that the lack of domestic violence law in Armenia was a major problem, and this time colonel Duryan agreed with Hovhannisyan's statement.

“That's why a domestic violence law is currently in development. If such a law were to pass, the police would be able to act more freely; we'd, for example, be able [to issue a restraining order] and keep the abuser away from the victim's house. Today, however, law enforcement officers are limited in their actions,” Duryan said and proceeded to claim that police do, nevertheless, show timely and appropriate reaction to domestic violence cases.

The police spokeswoman also presented statistical data, according to which, the number of domestic violence cases as well as that of affected families registered in police stations has increased compared with the same period last year.

“During the first 6 months of 2016, 373 domestic violence cases were recorded in Armenia, compared to the 342 incidents of the same period last year. This year, there are 544 affected families on police's watch list, instead of last year's 402 families,” Duryan said, claiming that the increase in the number of registered families spoke of the fact that people's trust in law enforcement agencies has increased.

Another discussion participants, Women's Support Center founder Maro Matosyan disagreed with the official's claim, insisting that this growth was not due to the good work of the police, but the lack of proper punishment. “The punishment is either a 3-year imprisonment or a fine of 50 thousand drams (about $105). But the society has to understand that domestic violence is a criminal act. There is a lack of political will with regard to this issue,” Matosyan said. She added that in addition to developing a domestic violence law and ensuring domestic violence victims' further protection, the state has to ensure that there are enough shelters in the country for women who leave their abusive husbands.