Category: News

A prosecutor has demanded a 7-year imprisonment for prominent Armenian businessman Levon Hayrapetyan who stands charged with stealing $700,000 from the mother of former Bashkortostan senator Igor Izmestyev who was sentenced to life for terrorism, RAPSI reported on Tuesday from Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky District Court.

The prosecutor also asked the court to collect from the businessman 20.8 million rubles ($310,000) in damages in favor of the injured party.

Investigators believe that the businessman has misled the woman by promising a reduced sentence for her son. In practice, he could not influence the judgment. The maximum penalty for such crime is 10 years in prison.

Hayrapetyan has pleaded not guilty. According to his lawyer, the case has been framed up.

Hayrapetyan also stands charged with involvement in an embezzlement case under which Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov, sold Bashneft, a midsized oil company he headed for three years, to the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema in 2009 at a huge “discount” of $500 million.

In early October 2014, Hayrapetyan was placed under house arrest. His defense attorney asked the court to release him, citing health problems.

The situation in Nagorno Karabakh will be discussed at the plenary session of the European Parliament today.

Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will make a statement, which will be followed by a debate.

Ahead of the debate on Nagorno-Karabakh in the European Parliament (EP) this evening, several European politicians have already expressed their views on the worrisome situation in the region, calling for different measures of support to Karabakh.

One of them is the Vice-President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, MEP Josep-Maria Terricabras. He has already taken the floor during the European Parliament plenary opening yesterday, demanding the inclusion of Nagorno Karabakh in the peace negotiations and calling for its full international recognition based on the democratic referendum of 1991, as well as Karabakh’s working democratic institutions, low corruption levels, and well respected judiciary.

Likewise, MEP Françoise Grossetête, who is Vice-President of the EPP group in the European Parliament has also referred to this matter. She has tabled a written question, deploring civilian victims and asking the EU High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini, for measures to enforce and respect the cease-fire.
Lastly, MEP Jordi Sebastia has sent an inquiry to the EU High Representative/Vice-President, underlining atrocities committed by Azerbaijan on Karabakhi civilians and asking the EU to stop “calls on both sides” in situations where there is clearly one culprit. MEP Sebastia has recently travelled to both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh accompanied by EuFoA.

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) welcomes these important voices. “We are very proud that our awareness-raising activities are bearing fruit”, comments EuFoA Director, Mr Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa. “In our opinion, all our European friends have a constructive message that could help to bring a sustainable solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”.

A team visited one of the artillery positions of the Nagorno Karabakh Army and spoke to the soldiers there.

Member of the European Parliament Josep-Maria Terricabras (Spain) calls or international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh.

Addressing the EP plenary session, Mr. Terricabras reminded that on December 10, 1991 the people of Nagorno Karabakh voted for independence in a referendum and added that this democratic process was responded by a military offensive by Azerbaijan with more than 30 thousand dead.

“Subsequently, ceasefire between Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia was signed. The creation of the Minsk Group in 1992 was a breakthrough, but Azerbaijan has refused to implement a mechanism for monitoring the violations of the ceasefire, the MEP said.

“Nagorno Karabakh has fully democratic institutions, an exemplary judicial system, and low levels of corruption. For this reason we request the inclusion of representatives of Nagorno Karabakh in the negotiations of the Minsk Group, precisely because they determine the future of the country’s inhabitants,”Josep-Maria Terricabras said.

He concluded that the “for the resolution of the military conflict, it is necessary to recognize internationally the new independent state.”

President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.

The interlocutors discussed the situation established as a result of the recent Azerbaijani offensive along the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

They attached importance to the mobilization of the efforts of the state and the church for the sake of solution of the most important problems and challenges.

The Catholicoi spoke about their forthcoming visit to Nagorno Karabakh.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today Nobel Prize winners in the area of medicine and adjacent areas Aaron Ciechanover, Ada Yonath, Dan Shechtman, John Robin Warren, and Ei-ichi Negishi.

These scientists, who were awarded the greatest prize in the area of science, have arrived to Armenia in the framework of the scientific event organized by the M. Heratsi State Medical University of Yerevan.

At the meeting, discussed were issues related to the development in Armenia of science, particularly of medicine and adjacent areas.

To commemorate 101 years since the Armenian genocide, the Cyprus Committee on the Memory of the Armenian Genocide organizes a series of events to mark the dark anniversary, according to a press release on Tuesday, reports.

On Wednesday, April 20, a book in Greek and English that includes articles on the Armenian genocide in the Greek Cypriot press between 1914-1923 will be launched at the University of Nicosia’s UNESCO amphitheatre at 7pm.

On Saturday, April 23, at 5:30pm, the youth will walk from the capital’s Makarios Avenue to the Armenian Church on Armenias Street where they will be joined by community members for a remembrance event set for 7:30pm.

This will be under the auspices of House President Yiannakis Omirou who is the main speaker. The Armenian Archbishop and Mehdessian will also address the gathering.

The events aim to maintain remembrance for the 1.5 million Armenians who died at the hands of Turkey during the 1915 genocide, and to push for recognition of the genocide by Turkey.

Turkey’s any interference with the Karabakh conflict settlement can only harm the process, because of Turkey’s unilateral stance and its mania of supporting Azerbaijan at any cost, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

“The aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact and Turkey’s provocative statements are the best proof of it,” he added.

Speaking at the Islamic Cooperation Organization, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speculated the ‘Islamic solidarity,’ thus trying to present Azerbaijan’s military actions against self-determined Nagorno Karabakh as a religious conflict. Kocharyan labelet it a “dangerous attempt.”

“The current policy of the Turkish authorities is a consequence of the wave of instability, terrorism and bloodshed both inside Turkey and outside its borders. With the above-mentioned provocative statement the Turkish Foreign Minister actually reveals its plans to extend the wave to the South Caucasus,” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

“We’re confident that aware of the real goals of Turkey, our traditionally friendly Muslim countries, will not give in to Ankara’s provocations,” Shavarsh Kocharyan concluded.

Two Russian military pilots have died after their helicopter crashed near the central Syrian city of Homs, the BBC reports.

The aircraft, an M-28H attack helicopter, was not shot at, Russia’s defence ministry said.

The crash happened in the early hours of Tuesday, the ministry said. The bodies were recovered and brought to Russia’s Hmeimim air base.

Russia joined the Syrian conflict in September, launching air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad.