TESTIMONY OF EYE-WITNESSES OF THE TERRORIST ACT WERE HEARD TODAY IN STEPANAKERT

PanARMENIAN.Net - 29.09.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. The testimony of 7 eye-witnesses were heard today at the court session on the case of the terrorist act against RNK President Arkady Ghukasian.

As the correspondent of MEDIAMAX reports from Stepanakert, all the witnesses present today, the majority of whom are employees of the presidential staff and security service of the president, were present at the place of the assassination attempt few minutes after it was realized, and confirmed their statements they had made during the preliminary investigation.

The witnesses particularly stated that the night of March 22 they saw in the central Yerevanian avenue in Stepanakert the fired car of the Nagorno Karabakh President. They helped to convey the seriously wounded Arkady Ghukasian, his bodyguard Samvel Gabrielyan and the driver Sergey Sarkisian.

By the testimony of the head of security of RNK president, Arayik Avetisian, who on the night of the terrorist act accompanied in car the returning from work Arkady Ghukasian, during the realization of the terrorist act he noticed 2 machine-gun flashes, from what he concluded that 2 persons were firing. He informed that after his and Arthur Mangasarian's, the other bodyguard's return fire, the two shooters disappeared. Mangasarian gave analogous evidence, adding that about 10 minutes after taking the wounded he saw a "Mercedes" pass near the hospital, which , in his opinion, belonged to the security of the RNK ex defense minister Samvel Babayan.

The trial of the accused of the case of March 22 terrorist act against RNK president Arkady Ghukasian began on September 18 in Stepanakert. The main accused of the case is RNK ex defense minister, Lieutenant-General Samvel Babayan. -0-