YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The three men who killed the ethnic Armenian 85 year old jeweler Hakob Demirji and robbed his house in Istanbul’s Sisli district have been sentenced to life imprisonment, Hurriyet reports.

The suspects, Aram Hovhannisyan, Arthur Ayvazyan and Sergey Mikayelyan, along with other 6 suspects were tried in the Istanbul Court.

Responding to the Court’s questions, Arthur Ayvazyan said through a translator that they didn’t do any premeditated crime, they had entered the house only to make a robbery, and they didn’t know the owner. “Our goal wasn’t to kill anyone. We didn’t attack them, we didn’t beat them. Our actions must be viewed as robbery”, he said.

The Court issued a life imprisonment verdict for Aram Hovhannisyan, Arthur Ayvazyan and Sergey Mikayelyan for the premeditated murder of Hakob Demirji. In addition, for battering Hakob’s widow Seda,  three others were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for attempted murder, 10 years for armed robbery and 3 months for property damage.

The other suspects were cleared of the charges.

The attack on Hakob Demirji and his wife Seda’s house occurred on February 6, 2016 in Istanbul’s Sisli district. The assailants robbed the valuable items from the house, including 34 thousand USD. They had tied up the couple, 85 and 79, which resulted in Hakob Demirji suffocating. Seda Demirji was hospitalized.