Armenian court tries suspects in high officials’ murder plot
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
25 Jul 05
Gagik Grigoryan, who is accused of plotting the murder of high-ranking
Armenian officials, has pleaded guilty. He asked the prosecution to
take into consideration two testimonies given by him during the
investigation as a basis.
According to an indictment, former Armenian Communication and
Transport Minister Eduard Madatyan and his friend Gagik Grigoryan
promised to pay Artashat resident Misha Khudaverdyan 100,000 dollars,
for blowing up the cars of Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan,
Ministers Serzh Sarkisyan, Andranik Manukyan, Ovik Abramyan, Chairman
of the Constitutional Court Gagik Arutyunyan and businessman Gagik
Tsarukyan in Khosrov forest, and President Robert Kocharyan in
Artashat Region on 22 October 2004 during a harvest festival.
Pargev Oganyan, a judge of the first instance court of Yerevan’s
Kentron and Nork Marash communities who presided over the case, today
questioned Eduard Madatyan’s brother Grigor Madatyan. Grigor described
Gagik Grigroyan’s and Misha Khudaverdyan’s relations as business. He
said that Misha Khudaverdyan took from Grigoryan 10,000 dollars to set
up a joint livestock farm. According to the evidence, Grigoryan gave
Khudaverdyan this sum received from Eduard Madatyan to buy a mine.
Eduard Madatyan is now under investigation. Misha Khudaverdyan, who
came to police on 9 November 2004 and informed about the crime, is a
witness in the trial.
[Video showed the courtroom and defendant Gagik Grigoryan]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress