Azerbaijani soldier pleads guilty to murdering Armenian civilianJune 10, 2023 - 12:37 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani soldier Hussein Akhundov who illegally crossed the border to Armenia and murdered a civilian in the southern province of Syunik has pleaded guilty, according to a report from the Public TV of Armenia. Akhundov’s arrest has been extended for 3 months. Earlier, a criminal case was initiated against two Azerbaijani soldiers, Akhundov and Agshin Babirov, who crossed the border from Nakhijevan into the territory of Armenia. Besides Akhundov’s murder charges, the two are also accused of illegal crossing of the state border by prior agreement with a group of persons, smuggling and illegal circulation of weapons and ammunition. The Court of General Jurisdiction of Syunik held the first hearing on Akhundov's case on June 9 in Kapan. During the meeting, Akhundov pleaded guilty to the crimes he was accused of. Journalists were allowed to be in the meeting room only at the beginning, the main part of it was held behind closed doors. In May, the court of general jurisdiction of Syunik sentenced Babirov to 11 years and 6 months in prison. According to the National Security Service of Armenia, on April 12, Akhundov murdered Armenian citizen Hayrapet Meliksetyan, who worked as a watchman at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Plant. Akhundov, in particular, having reached the outpost of the ZMKK in the village of Shgharshik, shot Meliksetyan from a machine gun in order to steal his mobile phone and car. The caretaker died on the spot. Akhundov took Meliksetyan's phone, cigarettes and lighter, tried to start the car, but could not. After that, he fled the scene. A little later, he recorded a video message on the phone, saying: "...fortunately, we successfully reached Armenia...beheaded 400-500 Armenians. We are not traitors, we hope to successfully return to Azerbaijan...". After that, he uploaded the recording on social media. Then Akhundov went to the village of Achanan, Syunik region, where on April 13 he was noticed by passers-by, who, having found out that he was a soldier of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, neutralized him and handed him over to the authorities. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Protest leader vows to achieve departure of Armenian authorities According to Archbishop Bagrat, there is only one solution to the situation in Armenia. Your home is in Armenia – Ameriabank offers mortgage loans for the Diaspora To buy real estate, Diasporans can apply to Ameriabank online to buy, renovate or build a home anywhere in Armenia. ARARAT special evening dedicated to Aznavour's 100th Anniv. On May 20 ARARAT legendary Armenian brandy, celebrated the centennial of Maestro Charles Aznavour with a special event. Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province. |