TRIAL ON CASE OF CITIZEN OF FRANCE SARGIS HATSPANIAN ENDS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 1, 2009

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, NOYAN TAPAN. The trial on the case of citizen of
France Sargis Hatspanian finished on March 31 at Yerevan Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities’ first instance court, presided over by judge
Gagik Avetisian.

S. Hatspanian is accused of a false denunciation.

According to the charge, S. Hatspanian declared about a prepared crime,
in particular, that an attempt upon RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s
life would be committed. He said this in his interview to the Haykakan
Zhamanak daily on November 4, 2008. A criminal case was filed on the
basis of the publication, S. Hatspanian was arrested on November 7
and detention was chosen as a restraint to him on November 10.

In his large testimony given at the court S. Hatspanian affirmed
what he had said in his interview. According to him, the criminal
case filed against him is "invented, fabricated, made up," and
what RA National Security Service Investigation Department senior
investigator Artur Aghajanian presented as the "supreme truth" is
purely a slander. "From where does he know that I deliberately told
a lie or provided false information to media representatives. I am
ready to state who indeed commits false denunciation," the defendant
stated. According to S. Hatspanian, he did not blame anyone, but only
mentioned the forces interested in the attempt upon S. Sargsyan’s life,
Robert Kocharian, ARFD and representatives of the Civilitas Foundation
"serving foreign interests" (the founder and Chairman of the Civilitas
Foundation is former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian: NT).

As a circumstance confirming the case’s being of poor quality Sargis
Hatspanian mentioned that fact that the National Security Service
secretly overheard his former telephone number, as well as the numbers
of his wife and daughter. And law enforcement bodies learnt from him
that his former number is used by another subscriber.

In response to the prosecutor party’s question of why he did not
inform the law enforcement bodies about the crime being prepared
Sargis Hatspanian said that among all power branches he only trusts
the "fourth" power, which he informed about it.

S. Hatspanian asked the court for a petition to give him a possibility
to have some rights: the defendant is not given the letters addressed
to him, his medical examination was not completed. He also asked for
interfering to regulate the hours of his telephone conversations with
his relatives and friends, as well as to give him a possibility to
use a mobile computer.

The sides will make indictment and defence speeches at the April 2
court sitting.