Khachaturyan sisters recognized as victims in sexual abuse case against their late father
Sisters Maria, Angelina, and Krestina Khachaturyan have been recognized as victims in a sexual abuse case launched against their late father, Mikhail, whom they killed in July 2018, arguing that they acted in self-defense. They are still suspects in their father’s murder case.
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.
On Tuesday, March 23, Angelina Khachaturyan’s lawyer Alexey Parshin told the state news agency TASS that the Investigative Committee had officially notified the sisters’ lawyers that a criminal investigation had been opened against the late Mikhail Khachaturyan. According to RIA Novosti, the case was opened on charges of sexual assault, sexual coercion, and torture.
The lawyer Alexey Parshin believes that being recognized as victims in the case will allow for the termination of the criminal proceedings against the Khachaturyan sisters.
In turn, Krestina Khachaturyan’s lawyer Alexey Liptser said that if Mikhail Khachaturyan is found guilty of committing all of the aforementioned crimes against his daughters, it will provide “additional and irrefutable evidence” that the Khachaturyan sisters acted out of “necessary self-defense” at the time of the murder.
The Khachaturyan sisters are facing felony charges of murder “committed by a group following a premeditated conspiracy.” Their legal defense team maintains that they acted in necessary self-defense after being physically abused and sexually assaulted by their father.
In early February, the Moscow City Court remanded the case against the eldest Khachaturyan sisters, Angelina and Krestina, back to prosecutors. The youngest sister, Maria, who was a minor at the time of her father’s murder and has been deemed medically unfit to stand trial previously, is set to be tried separately.