The law and order bodies of Armenia continue publicizing new data on the assassination of the Chairman of the Council of Public TV and Radio Company of Armenia Tigran Naghdalian, committed on December 28, 2002. As it has been reported, two participants of the crime had been announced wanted and six had been arrested, including the direct assassins (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, March 8-14, 2003).
On March 14 the Department of Public Relations and Information of the RA Police informed that on the evening of March 13 Grigor Petrosian (nicknamed "Mzdo"), announced wanted on the same day, came to the Department of Criminal Investigation of the RA Police and made a confession.
On March 15 the Department also informed about the arrest – in the afternoon of March 14 – of Hovhannes Harutiunian (nicknamed "Aper"), announced wanted on March 6. Harutiunian pleaded guilty of the assassination of Tigran Naghdalian and testified that his main client was the resident of Ararat village Armen Sargsian.
On March 15 Armen Sargsian was arrested and he, as a number of others involved in the case, is introduced charges on items 1 and 3 of Article 17-99 of the RA Criminal Code (commitment of premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances for profit and in relation with the professional and public duty performance by the deceased). Entrepreneur Armen Sargsian is the brother of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian, killed during the terrorist attack on the Parliament on October 27, 1999, and Aram Sargsian, the member of the Political Council of opposition "Republic" party.
On March 17 the mother of the Sargsians Greta Sargsian started sit-in of indefinite duration at the gate of the RA President’s residence. Greta Sargsian believes the charges introduced to her son is a frame-up on behalf of the authorities. Opposition representatives, a number of RA National Assembly deputies, the widows of the Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian and Vice-Speaker Yuri Bakhshian, assassinated during the terrorist attack of October 27 – Rima Demirchian and Anahit Bakhshian, other relatives of the October 27 victims also took part in the picket by the presidential residence. In the opinion of Rima Demirchian, the charges introduced to Armen Sargsian is a provocation on behalf of the authorities to defile the opposition, and the murder of the journalist, who, as she believes, was one of the key witnesses on October 27 case, was only to the benefit of the terrorist attack organizers. A similar opinion is voiced by the representatives of opposition forces, including "Republic" party, who hold actions and rallies of protest.
On March 18 the attorney of Armen Sargsian informed his defendant pleads not guilty of the death of the journalist.
