EMPLOYEES OF RA NSS SEARCH HEAD OFFICE OF "NEW TIMES" PARTY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 25, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Early in the morning of February 25,
some employees of the RA National Security Service (NSS) searched the
head office of "New Times" party (NTP), seizing and taking way the
computers. NT was informed by the party’s press service that after
a few hours of search, the NSS employees failed to find any document
to confirm their suspicions.

The armed and masked members of the RA NSS "Alpha" unit arrested
the chairman of the NTP Aram Karapetian on February 24. According
to the press release, the report, which was written up by the
chief investigator of the RA NSS Investigation Department Colonel
M. Marukian, reads: "Aram Karapetian is suspected of false information
about a crime, which was combined by accusing the Armenian president
Robert Kocharian and the prime minister Serge Sargsian of especially
grave crimes: high treason and organization of a terrorist act".

According to the NTP press service, on February 12 the NTP chairman
released his second compact disc, in which he in particular addressed
the authorities’ plan published in the Armenian press, according
to which Meghri was to be handed over to Azerbaijan, as well as the
information that it is possible that there is a link between this plan
to hand over Meghri and the act of terror committed on October 27,
1999. It is indicated that A. Karapetian expressed his concern about
this problem in his letters to the National Assembly speaker Tigran
Torosian, the RA prosecutor general Aghvan Hovsepian and the director
of the RA NSS Gorik Hakobian.

The protocol on arrest also contains a statement of A. Karapetian,
according to which the NTP chairman has no relation to the action he
is accused of because his action was not false denunciation.