MosJan Posted August 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Naghdalian Murder Trial Finally Underway YEREVAN (Armenpress/RFE-RL)--The Kentron and Nork-Marash district court has begun to hear the trial on the assassination of the chairman of the Council of Public TV and Radio Company of Armenia Tigran Naghdalian. On Tuesday, the brother of opposition leader Aram Sarkisian formally pleaded not guilty to accusations of organizing the assassination. Armen Sarkisian, who has been kept in detention since March, insisted on his innocence after prosecutors read out their indictment during the second court hearing in the trial of 13 individuals allegedly involved in the murder. Besides Sarkisian, Khachik Aginian, Nshan Muradian and Rafik Melkonian pleaded not guilty as well. John Harutiunian, who is accused of shooting Naghdalian, along with Hovannes Harutiunian, Gegham Shahbazian, Grigor Petrossian, Levon Harutiunian and Armen Manassian pleaded guilty. Felix Arustamian, Samvel Abrahamian, and Samvel Harutiunian pleaded partially guilty. Hovannes Harutiunian is accused of being an accomplice to the assassination and of possessing illegal arms; the other accused are charged with either being accomplices or possessing illegal arms. Defendants John Harutiunian, Felix Arustamian, Samvel Abrahamian, and Armen Manassian are Karabagh citizens; Armen Sarkisian Gegham Shahbazian, Grigor Petrossian and Leva Harutiunian are residents of the Ararat region of Armenia. The judge running the proceedings Saribek Aramian, granted the prosecutors' request to remove Sarkisian from the courtroom during the cross-examination of six of the defendants including Hovannes Harutiunian. The prosecutors argued that his presence could deter them from telling the truth. Hovannes Harutiunian, a distant relative of the Sarkisian family was allegedly paid $75,000 by the businessman to arrange Naghdalian's killing. Sarkisian, however, says that he was "blackmailed" by Harutiunian after the shooting and paid the money because he feared for his life. The prosecutors claim that Sarkisian plotted to kill Naghdalian because he felt that the latter was involved in the assassination of his brother, then Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, in the October 1999 terrorist attack on the Armenian parliament. The next hearing is scheduled for August 19. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted August 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 Accused speaks in case of murdered journalist By Zhanna AlexanyanArmeniaNow reporter John Harutyunyan testified that he was contracted to kill Tigran Naghdalyan. The third session of the Tigran Naghdalyan murder trial finished this week, with testimony from the man who previously admitted committing the murder. Veteran television journalist Naghdalyan was shot to death last December 28. At the time of his death he was chairman of the board of directors of the Public Television and Radio of Armenia, a post appointed by President Robert Kocharyan. Naghdalyan's murder has been linked by some to his expected appearance in court to testify in the trial of Nairy Hunanyan and others charged with the assassinations of seven government officials, October 27, 1999. John Harutyunyan, in his mid-30s, a father of four and resident of the town of Martuni, Nagorno Artsax, appeared calm in an otherwise tense courtroom where he is charged as Naghdalyan's killer. Others are charged with complicity in the crime, including Armen Sargsyan, brother of slain Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, one of the victims of the October 1999 killings in Parliament. Sargsyan is accused of having ordered Naghdalyan's death and allegedly offering $75,000 to have the murder carried out. Other defendants have fully or partially admitted guilt. Sargsyan has maintained that he is innocent. Before a full courtroom, Harutyunyan said he had a meeting last September with an acquaintance, Gegham Shahbazyan, in Hadrut, Artsax. "He offered for me to commit a murder and I agreed," Harutyunyan said. The target was a journalist named Tigran, Harutyunyan testified, and elaborating on the subsequent events told the court: Harutyunyan and defendant Felix Arustamyan came to Yerevan and then to Ararat to a meeting in a small restaurant owned by defendant Liova Harutyunyan (Armen Sargsyan is godfather to Liova Harutyunyan's children). At the meeting defendant Gegham Shahbazyan said that Liova Harutyunyan was offering $30,000 for a contract killing. "He told me: 'There is a journalist, who is writing wrong things and he is an organizer of the October 27 incident. He gave false documents to Nairy Hunanyan and he is making programs against Sargsyan's family. Can you do that?'" John Harutyunyan testified. "I said that I could, but that 30 (thousand) isn't enough, I need 100 (thousand). Gegham said 50 (thousand)." Two days later John Harutyunyan again met Shahbazyan at the restaurant, where he learned that Liova Harutyunyan turned down the bid of $100,000. Shahbazyan said he would take care of financing the murder. (Defendants Sargsyan and Shahbazyan were excluded from hearing John Harutyunyan's testimony.) John Harutyunyan continued: He spent 15 days stalking Naghdalyan and once had an opportunity to shoot him, but lost his nerve. Then he was ordered to kill the journalist before New Year's Day. He said he was not aware of Naghdalyan's position or of his stature as a widely-known journalist. On December 28 John Harutyunyan followed Tigran Naghdalyan. The killer hid in the entrance to Zakyan Street No. 8 where he killed Naghdalyan with one shot to the head. On December 30, John Harutyunyan testified, Shahbazyan paid him $19,000 and took him to Artsax. He never got any more money. Several times John Harutyunyan's testimony was interrupted by questions from attorneys. He refused to answer all of them saying: "I don't answer questions. That's it. I've said what I've said. I don't say I haven't done it, but I refuse to answer questions." John Harutyunyan said he will only answer questions after the other defendants testify. The only question he answered was one posed by the judge. Asked whether the crime had been committed with a "TT" pistol, John Harutyunyan answered yes. Prosecutors said John Harutyunyan's testimony in court contained "serious differences" from testimony he gave during the preliminary investigation. In the preliminary investigation, John Harutyunyan is said to have indicated that he understood that Naghdalyan's murder was ordered by relatives of Vazgen Sargsyan. John Harutyunyan testified that published statements signed by him confirming the prosecutors' account of his preliminary testimony were not his. "I didn't see and read testimonies. I just signed a document they gave me," he told the court. That statement was met with applause by relatives of Sargsyan in the courtroom, which started a quarrel with supporters of the Naghdalyan family. The tense atmosphere became more heated in a hallway next to the courtroom until police stepped in to disperse the crowd. During a previous session, defendant Armen Sargsyan appealed to his supporters in the courtroom to remain calm and not offend or harm anyone. "You won't help me by doing that, you will only cause problems for me," he said. The next session of the trial is scheduled for September 2. According to Agnes Inside Wary of Water: Recent village epidemic is a reminder of Armenia's "Ordinary Phenomenon" Full story -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Embattled Belief: Jehovah's Witnesses threaten to sue government if it is refused legalization Full story -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Week in seven days Photo of the week -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Watch the birdie Plenty of eyes have been focused this week on the Pan Armenian Games. Amateur athletes from 75 cities have been in Armenia for a series of team and individual sports. Copyright ArmeniaNow 2002-2003. All rights reserved.Articles may be reproduced, provided ArmeniaNow is cited as the source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 WE TURNED TO BE BAD GUYS http://www.armtown.com/img/photo/has_en_288191885.jpgAs we have already informed you Armen Sargsyan who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the organization of the murder of the Chairman of the Council of Public Radio – TV Company Tigran Naghdalyan has been released from prison. Tigran Naghdalyan was murdered at the end of 2002. Murdered by the lees that used to uproar from different tribunes and the press belonging to Armenian Pan National Movement about the annihilation of the traitors, establishing armies, and liberating the country from the conquerors. Tigran was one of us who used to show the lees their real place under the sun. What they did with Tigran? What else could they do? No person, no problem! Thus they managed to scare others, which was the principle goal of Tigran's murder. No mystery, everything is quite clear. The king in Yevgeny Swartz' "Ordinary Miracle" says: "Suddenly my grandfather from my mom's side woke up inside me. He was very afraid of pain. In any difficult situation he was unable to initiate anything. He always hoped that everything would be ok. When they were throttling his wife in front of him, he was whispering: "Try to bear it, dear, maybe everything will be ok." When she died, during her funeral he was walking behind her coffin and whistling." We turned to be bad guys. That is why we didn't like the approach of the king's grandfather from his mom's side. And we continued to complete our work with greater efforts. The political life in our reality reminds of a battle without rules. But after Tigran's murder great changes were made even in the rules of the battle without rules. If before that everything was allowed, after that absolutely everything is allowed. So if the goal of Tigran's murdered was to scare others they had greater achievements. What do we usually hear from the law enforcers after each murder? "A criminal case has been instituted?" There is an impression that there is an army of prosecutors in our reality who are on the way of the crime and they immediately institute a criminal case before the crime is committed. After which they immediately make a photo-robot. Sometimes you even want to give them a peace of wise advice: "You can detain those photo-robots." But this story was really special. In a very short period of time they managed to find and arrest those who committed the crime, as well as the organizers, in the person of Armen Sargsyan. The latter was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 2003. At the moment he is already in freedom. Maybe soon he will rush to the Northern Avenue. And the only thing left to do for us, the citizens, is put up with all this, like the inhabitants of the building that faces a cemetery - cemetery where honesty, decency, morality and sensibility are buried."HAYOTS ASHKHARH" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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