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LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARIAN CONTINUES TO CLAIM THAT HIS ATTEMPTED MURDER WAS INSTRUCTED BY AZERI PRESIDENT
Noyan Tapan
http://www.nt.am/news.php?shownews=118005
Oc t 9, 2008
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The investigation into the attempted
murder of the political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazarian in
the spring of 2008 was completed and the case was sent to court,
L. Melik-Shahnazarian stated at the October 9 press conference,
insisting on the claim he made months ago that the president of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Azeri special services are behind this
crime.
"After shots had been fired at my house in Dilijan on April 22, an
unknown person called and warned me not to write articles and speak
on television any more. Otherwise, he threatened to settle scores
with my family members, about whom he had detailed information,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said.
Following that call, the political scientist applied to the appropriate
Armenian bodies. The investigation revealed that Georgian citizen
Arshak Aghababian ("Turki Arshak") whose mother is an Azeri and father
an Armenian was the person who committed the attempted murder and
then threatened L. Melik-Shahnazarian on the phone. It became clear
durind A. Aghababian's questioning that he received an instruction
to kill L. Melik-Shahnazarian from the Azeri criminal "authority"
Arkhan who promised to pay 100 thousand dollars. "Arkhan told Arshak:
"Do whatever you want: shoot him, strangle him or destroy in any other
way, we do not want him to write articles on Azeri subjects any more,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said.
A. Aghababian together with a friend committed an attempted murder,
and being sure that L. Melik-Shahnazarian had been killed, he called
the client and told him about it. However, several days later the
client found out that the political scientist was alive and he
refused to pay the money to A. Aghababian. A. Aghababian started
threathening L. Melik-Shahnazarian, forcing him to spread false
rumors and organize an imitation of his murder so that Aghababian
could receive the promised 100 thousand dollars for the murder.
The trial of A. Aghababian will take place in Dilijan soon. He is
charged under the RA Criminal Code's Article 305: attempted murder
of a state or public figure, committed in order to terminate the
activities of that person. In the opinion of L. Melik-Shahnazarian,
such crimes cannot be organized without the respective instruction
of a head of a country, in the given case - Ilham Aliyev. He did not
rule out that an attempted murder with respect to him may be committed
again and that a wave of terrorist actions may begin in Armenia.
Noyan Tapan
http://www.nt.am/news.php?shownews=118005
Oc t 9, 2008
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The investigation into the attempted
murder of the political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazarian in
the spring of 2008 was completed and the case was sent to court,
L. Melik-Shahnazarian stated at the October 9 press conference,
insisting on the claim he made months ago that the president of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Azeri special services are behind this
crime.
"After shots had been fired at my house in Dilijan on April 22, an
unknown person called and warned me not to write articles and speak
on television any more. Otherwise, he threatened to settle scores
with my family members, about whom he had detailed information,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said.
Following that call, the political scientist applied to the appropriate
Armenian bodies. The investigation revealed that Georgian citizen
Arshak Aghababian ("Turki Arshak") whose mother is an Azeri and father
an Armenian was the person who committed the attempted murder and
then threatened L. Melik-Shahnazarian on the phone. It became clear
durind A. Aghababian's questioning that he received an instruction
to kill L. Melik-Shahnazarian from the Azeri criminal "authority"
Arkhan who promised to pay 100 thousand dollars. "Arkhan told Arshak:
"Do whatever you want: shoot him, strangle him or destroy in any other
way, we do not want him to write articles on Azeri subjects any more,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said.
A. Aghababian together with a friend committed an attempted murder,
and being sure that L. Melik-Shahnazarian had been killed, he called
the client and told him about it. However, several days later the
client found out that the political scientist was alive and he
refused to pay the money to A. Aghababian. A. Aghababian started
threathening L. Melik-Shahnazarian, forcing him to spread false
rumors and organize an imitation of his murder so that Aghababian
could receive the promised 100 thousand dollars for the murder.
The trial of A. Aghababian will take place in Dilijan soon. He is
charged under the RA Criminal Code's Article 305: attempted murder
of a state or public figure, committed in order to terminate the
activities of that person. In the opinion of L. Melik-Shahnazarian,
such crimes cannot be organized without the respective instruction
of a head of a country, in the given case - Ilham Aliyev. He did not
rule out that an attempted murder with respect to him may be committed
again and that a wave of terrorist actions may begin in Armenia.