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CTK National News Wire, Czech Republic
October 31, 2014 Friday 1:26 PM (Central European Time)
Prague not to seek mafia boss Saghoyan's extradition from Armenia
Prague Oct 31 (CTK)
The Justice Ministry will not ask Armenia for the extradition of the
arrested Russian-language mafia boss Andranik Soghoyan who was
sentenced to 22 years in prison in absentia for ordering a murder in
the Czech Republic, ministry spokeswoman Katerina Hrochova told CTK
today.
The Czech Republic could transfer the penal proceedings to Armenia,
where the thief in law or "vor v zakone" Soghoyan could be tried
again. However, since an appellate review in the case was filed with
the Czech Supreme Court, it is not probable, Hrochova added.
"Since Soghoyan is an Armenian state citizen and Armenia does not
extradite its citizens, his extradition to the Czech Republic is out
of question. This is why the Justice Ministry has not asked the
Armenian authorities for his detention to enable his extradition to
the Czech Republic," Hrochova said.
The Armenian police detained Soghoyan in Yerevan on Thursday on the
basis of information that he was wanted by the Czech authorities.
Soghoyan was to start serving the prison sentence in the Czech
Republic on September 1, but he did not. This is why the Prague City
Court issued a European warrant for his arrest, which, however, does
not apply to Armenia.
Court spokeswoman Marketa Puci said the court had started preparing an
international arrest warrant in mid-October, too, but this procedure
would last longer.
The Czech Republic and Armenia also discussed the possibility of
Soghoyan serving the prison sentence in his homeland. But Armenia said
this was not possible without a bilateral agreement, Hrochova said.
The only possibility is to transfer the whole penal proceedings to
Armenia where the case would be investigated from the beginning. The
Prague City Court would have to ask for it. However, the Justice
Ministry does not expect the court to do so at the moment, Hrochova
noted.
According to the indictment, Soghoyan ordered and organised the murder
of an Armenian businessman in 2007, but the hired assassin killed a
wrong man and stabbed another one by mistake.
The lower level court acquitted Soghoyan twice in the past, but the
case was repeatedly returned to it by the appeals court. The final
verdict for Soghoyan was meted out in October 2013, but at that time
he was abroad as the courts released him from custody.
Some media in Yerevan have reported that Soghoyan has been living in
Armenia for several years, while others say he arrived in Yerevan a
few days ago only.
Soghoyan, dubbed Zap in the Armenian underworld, was allegedly
detained in Armenia once before, but the police released him since
they lacked the respective documents from the Czech Republic.
hol/dr/rtj
October 31, 2014 Friday 1:26 PM (Central European Time)
Prague not to seek mafia boss Saghoyan's extradition from Armenia
Prague Oct 31 (CTK)
The Justice Ministry will not ask Armenia for the extradition of the
arrested Russian-language mafia boss Andranik Soghoyan who was
sentenced to 22 years in prison in absentia for ordering a murder in
the Czech Republic, ministry spokeswoman Katerina Hrochova told CTK
today.
The Czech Republic could transfer the penal proceedings to Armenia,
where the thief in law or "vor v zakone" Soghoyan could be tried
again. However, since an appellate review in the case was filed with
the Czech Supreme Court, it is not probable, Hrochova added.
"Since Soghoyan is an Armenian state citizen and Armenia does not
extradite its citizens, his extradition to the Czech Republic is out
of question. This is why the Justice Ministry has not asked the
Armenian authorities for his detention to enable his extradition to
the Czech Republic," Hrochova said.
The Armenian police detained Soghoyan in Yerevan on Thursday on the
basis of information that he was wanted by the Czech authorities.
Soghoyan was to start serving the prison sentence in the Czech
Republic on September 1, but he did not. This is why the Prague City
Court issued a European warrant for his arrest, which, however, does
not apply to Armenia.
Court spokeswoman Marketa Puci said the court had started preparing an
international arrest warrant in mid-October, too, but this procedure
would last longer.
The Czech Republic and Armenia also discussed the possibility of
Soghoyan serving the prison sentence in his homeland. But Armenia said
this was not possible without a bilateral agreement, Hrochova said.
The only possibility is to transfer the whole penal proceedings to
Armenia where the case would be investigated from the beginning. The
Prague City Court would have to ask for it. However, the Justice
Ministry does not expect the court to do so at the moment, Hrochova
noted.
According to the indictment, Soghoyan ordered and organised the murder
of an Armenian businessman in 2007, but the hired assassin killed a
wrong man and stabbed another one by mistake.
The lower level court acquitted Soghoyan twice in the past, but the
case was repeatedly returned to it by the appeals court. The final
verdict for Soghoyan was meted out in October 2013, but at that time
he was abroad as the courts released him from custody.
Some media in Yerevan have reported that Soghoyan has been living in
Armenia for several years, while others say he arrived in Yerevan a
few days ago only.
Soghoyan, dubbed Zap in the Armenian underworld, was allegedly
detained in Armenia once before, but the police released him since
they lacked the respective documents from the Czech Republic.
hol/dr/rtj