FORMER HEAD OF PENITENTIARY DEPARTMENT OF RA MINISTRY OF JUSTICE PUT UNDER ARREST

Noyan Tapan
Aug 1, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Detention was chosen as a preventive
measure with regard to Samvel Hovhannisian, the former Head of
the Penitentiary Department of the RA Ministry of Justice, by the
decision of the Court of First Instance of the Kentron and Nork Marash
communities of Yerevan made on July 30. It should also be mentioned
that he was charged with the indication of the first point of the
third part of Article 131 of the RA Criminal Code: kidnapping by an
organized group.

According to the message received from the RA Prosecutor General’s
Office, citizen Rubik Simonian was kidnapped with threats of
assasination in Moscow on June 27, 2007 and Russian roubles adequate
to 500 thousand at first, later 300 thousand U.S. dollars were
demanded as a ransom. Samvel Hovhannisian sent his representative
to Moscow in order to receive the money and the latter got Russian
roubles equivalent to 300 thousand dollars from the relatives of the
kidnapped after which Ruben Simonian was set free.

Searches were conducted during the preliminary investigation in the
appartments of Samvel Hovhannisian and H. Poghosian, who was involved
in the case as a defendant on July 31 for knowing and not informing
about the crime. In her interview with a Noyan Tapan correspondent,
Sona Truzian, the Spokeswoman of the RA Prosecutor General, denied
the information, according to which a search was conducted in the
appartment of Yervand Zakharian, the Mayor of Yerevan, as well.