ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 6, 2005 Monday 10:16 AM Eastern Time

President of Equatorial Guinea pardons Armenian pilots

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

Six Armenian pilots accused of an attempt to participate in a coup
d’etat in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea have been pardoned by the
decree of the republic’s president, Theodoro Obiang Nguema. The
Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed this report on Monday. The pilots
were sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment in November 2004.

The president of Equatorial Guinea said the pardon was a “goodwill
gesture” on his birthday. The Armenian pilots who pleaded not guilty
will be immediately released from prison and sent to Armenia.

Ara Abramyan, a prominent Russian entrepreneur, the president of the
World Armenian Congress and of the Union of Armenians in Russia, said
a few days ago that on coordination with the Armenian authorities he
had been exerting efforts to bring about the Armenian pilots’ release
and hoped that the matter would be settled promptly. Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanyan visited the capital of Equatorial Guinea,
Malabo, in late February to negotiate the pilots’ release.

On November 26, 2004, the court of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
sentenced the commander of the Armenian An-12 plane to 24 years of
deprivation of freedom and six members of the plane’s crew to 14
years in prison. The plane was making flights in Equatorial Guinea on
contract. The court decreed that the plane belonging to the Armenian
Dvin Concern becomes state property of Equatorial Guinea.

The Yerevan authorities were absolutely sure that the Armenian pilots
had nothing to do with actions against Equatorial Guinea and its
authorities. The court had not supplied any proofs of their
involvement in such actions, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said after
the trial.