ArmInfo. Aceing Minister of Justice of Armenia Artak Zeynalyan visited Nairi Hunanyan in the penitentiary institution, convicted in the case of the terrorist act in the Armenian parliament on October 27, 1999. Zeynalyan told this to the journalists on December 17th.
According to him, he was interested in the state of Hunanyan. "I do not want to disclose details, but I can only say that I advised him to go in for sports more," said Zeynalyan.
To note, on October 27, 1999, a group of persons led by Nairi Hunanyan, burst into parliament, shot Prime Minister of Armenia Vazgen Sargsyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Karen Demirchyan, Deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, Minister of Operational Affairs Leonard Petrosyan and MPs Armenak Armenakyan, Mikael Kotanyan and Henrik Abrahamyan. The terrorist group included former journalist Nairi Hunanyan, his brother Karen Hunanyan, their uncle Vram Galstyan, as well as Derenik Bedzhanyan and Ashot Knyazyan. Their trial began on February 15, 2001 and lasted for three years.
Neither the preliminary investigation, nor the proceedings in court allowed to give a final answer to the question of whether the terrorists acted on their own, or someone was behind them. On December 2, 2003, the Center-Nork-Marash Court of First Instance sentenced the brothers Nairi and Karen Hunanyan, Edik Grigoryan, Vram Galstian (in 2004, he died in prison, according to the official version, committed suicide), Derenik Bedjanian and Ashot Khozyan had to live by suicide; Hamlet Stepanyan was sentenced to 14 years in prison (In May 2010, his body was found in his bed in the Nubarashen penal institution). All seven were found guilty of treason and terrorism. The Court of Cassation of Armenia upheld the sentence.