Epress.am News from Armenia
Yerevan Court of First Instance of the Districts of Avan and Nor Nork sustained the charges against RA citizen Gevorg Hayrapetyan based on Article 299 Section 1 (treason against the state in the form of espionage) and Article 235 Section 1 (illegal purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition) of the RA Criminal Code and citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran, ethnic Azeri B. Bagheri, charged under Article 302 of the RA Criminal Code (espionage carried out by foreign national).
The court considered reasonable the prosecution’s evidence that Hayrapetyan, on the basis of the assignment received by Azerbaijani special services, collected and passed on to them secret information on the combat readiness and defense of the RA armed forces, as well as certain video footage, with the aim of carrying out anti-Armenian propaganda.
The last assignment was given to Hayrapetyan by Azerbaijan’s Special Services on Sept. 1, 2009, from Bagheri who had arrived in Armenia. A photo of Azerbaijani Special Services employee familiar to Hayrapetyan served as a sign of the meeting, according to the RA General Prosecutor’s official website.
Hayrapetyan received Bagheri in his home and, receiving his next assignment in an envelope, passed over items which could have served as anti-Armenian propaganda and which were found in a hidden compartment at the bottom of Bagheri’s bag by the National Security Services of the Republic of Armenia during inspection at the checkpoint in Meghri.
A search in Hayrapetyan’s apartment revealed firearms and ammunition.
The court, which sentenced Hayrapetyan for 12 years and Bagheri for 10 years imprisonment, convened behind closed doors. The defendants were provided with lawyers and in Bagheri’s case, with an interpreter.
As reported by Lragir.am, Hayrapetyan’s attorneys insist that the charge is fictitious and the prosecution had ulterior motives. RA General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan’s name was often mentioned in this case.
After the verdict was announced, Hayrapetyan’s relatives and army comrades staged a protest in front of the court, many — about 200 people — who came from Karvachar.
Police also gathered near the court entrance, hurling insults and offending Hayrapetyan’s supporters.
Hayrapetyan is a Lieutenant Colonel with the Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers (“defenders of the homeland”), fought in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and received numerous medals and awards.