CHALLENGE TO THE WHOLE STATE
Arthur Hovhannisyan
Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Aug 28 2007
As we know on August 25, 2007, at around midnight Third Class Justice
Consultant, Procurator of Lory province Albert Karush Ghazaryan has
been shot dead by an unknown person, in front of his house.
Four gunfires have been aimed at A. Ghazaryan’s direction, due to
which the procurator got 3 transparent and 1 blind injuries around
his back, shoulders and neck. During the investigation of the scene
of action 4 bullets of "Makarov" gun has been found. The same day an
operative-investigative group headed by the acting Prosecutor General
Mnatsakan Sargsyan left for the scene of action. The investigation
of the scene of action and the body, ballistic and dactiloscopic
expertise has been conducted.
A criminal case has been instituted under the proceeding of the
investigative department of the Prosecutor’s General, based on the
2nd point, of the 2nd part of article 104 of the Criminal Code, which
means the murder is linked to the official duties of the individual
(in this case A. Ghazaryan). We must add that in this case the
punishment is 8-15 years or life imprisonment.
An investigative group has been set up on the occasion of the
Procurator’s murder, which involves the most experienced employees
of RA Prosecutor’s, Police, and National Security.
Because the report of the Prosecutor’s General mentions about not
a person but persons, we can presume that they tend to think that
it was an ordered murder. By the way it is also not excluded that a
foreign killer has committed the murder, because the inhabitants of
the building said they have noticed a man with Slovenian appearance
some time before the murder.
We should also underscore that during the murder A. Ghazaryan’s
neighbors were awake but they didn’t hear any voice, which means the
killer has used a deafening gun, the favorite arm of the hired killers.
A. Ghazaryan has been appointed as the Procurator of Lory province on
March 28, 2006. Before that, beginning from the January of 1999 he has
worked as a deputy Prosecutor of the same province. On May 26, 2007, by
the decree of the President he has been appointed as Third Cass Justice
Consultant. In general, we believe it will be a difficult task for
the experienced employees of the Prosecutor’s, National Security, and
police to disclose the before mentioned murder. Not only because the
ordered murders (because most probably the murder has been ordered),
which professional killers usually commit, are very difficult to
disclose. The problem is – due to his official duties A. Ghazaryan has
"trodden on many people’s corns", has disclosed many crimes and abuses
that could arouse vindictiveness among many individuals. Let’s touch
upon one case that is connected with the sphere of nature conservation.
It turns out that those in charge of nature conservation in the
Ministry of Nature Conservation have themselves been engaged in illegal
woodcutting. Person in Charge of Forest Conservation G. Chobanyan and
forest-keeper A. Chobanyan has been detained. The Person in Charge of
Forest Conservation in Marts, A. Ghazaryan, Chief of Lory province
department of the Ministry of Nature Conservation state inspection
A. Grigoryan, his assistant H. Gharagyozyan and others have organized
an illegal woodcut and used it for construction work. Criminal case
has been instituted for the before mentioned fact, based on the 3rd
part of article 296 of the Criminal Code.
We can enumerate many other disclosures in the sphere of nature
conservation in which A. Ghazaryan had big part. Anyhow we should
underscore that ordered murders are not mainly manifestations of
revenge, but attempt to bury the facts that the person possesses,
in order to avoid other disclosures and finally criminal liability.
Let’s remember another, fresher criminal case disclosed in Lory
provinces. The latter was linked to the major of Vanadsor Samvel
Darbinyan, his brother – Seyran Darbinyan, as well as ex-governor of
Lory province Henrik Kochinyan.
The before mentioned criminal case was linked with the fact of
large-scale robberies in the dirty-water-cleaning station in
Vanadsor. The construction of the station was 95% completed in 1994.
According to one of the decisions taken by the government in 2005,
the final construction of the station has been given to Vanadsor
community. And the commission set up by the municipality and regional
council was in charge of the process.
It is noteworthy that neither the regional council of Lory province
nor the municipality of Vanadsor appointed responsible people to
supervise the expensive water-cleaning station, due to which beginning
from 1996 to 2007 expensive equipments, pipes, construction material
have been taken from the station.
We would like to quote a small part from an article published in
28.07.2007 issue of ‘Hayots Ashkharh" daily.
" During 2004, by the permission of ex-Governor of Lory province Henrik
Kochinyan (written but not registered), and by the recommendation of
the director of "Argishty-1" CJSC the concrete production knot of the
station has been dissembled and has been used for the construction
of Grigor Narekatsy Church.
It turned out that the 1 million dollar’s construction work of the
church has been implemented by "Argishty-1" CJSC, which is the personal
business-initiative of Major of Vanadsor S. Darbinyan. We should
mention that the project of the construction of this church hasn’t
envisaged concrete transference from the water-cleaning station. And
after the construction work the equipments of the knot have been
shifted to the territory of "Argishty-1" CJSC." We should also mention
that the thing is about a concrete knot, worth 30 000 US dollars.
Whereas the water-cleaning station is not the only object given to
Vanadsor community by the 176 A, 2005, decision of the government on
" Giving the non-finished constructions under the responsibility
of the communities." In what state were other objects? Where they
complete or in the same state? It is quite understandable that the
investigation was going to be spread on this route, by the initiative
of Lory Procurator.
Anyhow the before mentioned facts don’t mean that A. Ghazaryan’s
murder has been implemented by those people.
Lory province has always been famous for its complicated criminal
situation. And a principled Procurator like A. Ghazaryan could
definitely have many enemies. By the way as far as we could clarify,
A. Ghazaryan was a, mildly speaking, undesirable personality for
employees of the provincial police department as well. He would inform
his superiors about their violations.
Anyhow the disclosure of the case mainly depends on how experiences
those involved in the investigative group are. We shouldn’t overlook
the fact that A. Ghazaryan’s murder is a challenge not only to the
prosecutor’s system but also the whole state.