The Moscow City Court has granted a motion by the lawyers of the two eldest Khachaturyan sisters, Krestina and Angelina, that their case is heard by a jury. The selection of this jury will begin on August 31, according to Krestina Khachaturyan’s lawyer.
Police arrested Maria, Angelina, and Krestina Khachaturyan in July 2018 for murdering their 57-year-old father, Mikhail. At the time of the arrest, the sisters were 17, 18, and 19 years old, respectively. The women testified that they killed their father in self-defense after years of sexual abuse. They were initially jailed but later released on their own recognizance, following a public support campaign.
Moscow’s City Court refused, however, to remand the case back to prosecutors and consolidate it with the investigation against Maria Khachaturyan, the youngest of the three sisters. The court also left in place pretrial restrictions on the three women, prohibiting them from an array of activities that now includes participating in public assemblies.
Maria Khachaturyan was a minor at the time of her father’s murder and doctors have declared her unfit to stand trial. State prosecutors want a court to order medical treatment for her.
In December 2019, the Attorney General’s Office advocated reclassifying the Khachaturyan sisters’ actions from murder to justifiable self-defense, but the agency later reversed its position. In mid-July 2020, prosecutors confirmed an indictment of “premeditated murder by a group of persons.”