YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–At an August 11 hearing of the "Trial of 31" case Public Prosecutor Artur Hayrapetian held the charges brought against defendants Tigran V. Avetisian–Gagik Z. Karapetian–Gnel Hovhanissian–Arsen Yeritsian–Artur Ghazarian on counts 209 (attempt on a policeman’s life) and 17-209 (involvement in an attempt on a policeman’s life) to be proved–as well as the charges against defendants Armen Aghajanian–Suren Sahakian and Karen E. Karapetian on counts 205 (harboring a felony) and 206 (misprision of felony). He rejected as groundless the version by the defense counsel suggesting that policemen Artur Khachatrian and Grigor Hunanian were murdered by their own colleagues.
Hayrapetian said the policemen were murdered from a gun of 5.45mm caliber–while it is only Tigran V. Avetisian–who–according to the public prosecutor–who possessed a gun of that caliber. The allegation made by the defendant during a judicial inquiry suggesting that he fired a shot towards Hunanian was described by Hayrapetian as an attempt to impede a just verdict. He demanded that Avetisian be sentenced to death on charges of premeditated murder. Meanwhile–the prosecutor said he joined the petition by the state prosecutor with respect to the rest of the accomplices.
Then–the widow of policeman Grigor Hunanian said she would never know rest until Avetisian has been executed by shooting. At the same time she emphasized that if the defendant was freed she would herself take vengeance on him with the help of her late husband’s personal gun. It should be pointed out that such a statement is considered illegal–as it contains a corpus delicti (count 223–threat of murder).
On the day of the hearing–the Supreme Court building was still being picketed by demonstrators who demanded for freedom fighters to be released.
The next hearing is scheduled for August 25.
