The trial of Harutyun Sargsyan, accused of the premeditated murder of Karen Yesayan, who was engaged to be married to the daughter of former Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghoukasyan finally commenced today, albeit with a forty minute delay, at a packed Gyumri court.

The trail had been scheduled to start on December 27, but the accused had never been transferred from a National Security Service holding cell to the Artik Correctional Facility.

Relatives and friends of the accused staged a noisy protest outside the Gyumri court. They held placards reading "Harutyun Sargsyan is Innocent", "Shame on the Prosecutor" and "Arrest the Real Murderer".

When Sargsyan was ushered into the courtroom, Anahit Iskandaryan, mother of the murder victim, began yelling invectives at the accused.

"Take a good look at him. He's our version of Ramil Safarov. Look at that garbage," shouted the emotional mother.

The accused replied by saying that she shouldn't jump the gun at labelling people, but rather be more concerned at exposing the real murderer of her son.

Sargsyan is a 29 year-old college graduate with no prior criminal record. He politely asked to have his handcuffs removed at the start of the trial.

Surprisingly, none of the three attorneys retained by Sargsyan showed up for today's trial. Harutyun Sargsyan's father Samvel Sargsyan, a former police chief for the Ani District, told the judge that the attorneys outside the country but that they would return by the end of January.

The accused thus asked for a postponement. Judge Martin Saroyan sustained the motion and scheduled the next court date for February 5.