18.09.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. Ex defense minister of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, Samvel Babayan, who is the main accused in the trial of the terrorist act against RNK president, which begun today, challenged the court stating that “the court is illegal and that all the accused sitting in the dock are innocent”. S. Babayan refused to answer the questions of the chairman until the questions of court rejection won’t be solved and the criminal case won’t be transferred to the court of Armenia for consideration. Babayan promised to speak later with a special declaration.
Babayan’s lawyer, Zhudeks Shakarian also spoke today with solicitation to transfer the criminal case to the court of Syunik region of Armenia for consideration, motivating it by the fact that most of the accused are servicemen and the military tribunal in RNK has been cancelled several years ago (the application of the lawyer had been refused earlier at the administrative session of RNK Supreme Court on the basis of the law, according to which the legal proceedings are to be carried out on the territory the crime has been realized on).
Leaving for consultation, the court refused both solicitations, motivating it by insufficient grounds of the accused side.
The state prosecutor at the court is the General Prosecutor of RNK, Mavrik Ghukasian. Karen Baburian, deputy of RNK parliament and ex-Speaker of the National Assembly of RNK, represents the interests of the RNK president.
There are 16 persons in total involved in this case, but only 15 of them are in the dock. Regarding Lieutenant-colonel of the Karabakh army, Sasun Aghajanian, who is accused of being the direct executor of the terrorist act, the criminal case against him has been stopped since August 30 – he is hospitalized and undergoes medical examination in Nubarash clinic of Armenia.
The main accused of the case is RNK ex defense minister Samvel Babayan, who is charged with the organization of the terrorist act. -0-
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