By Armen Zakarian
An ad hoc commission of the Armenian parliament overseeing the official inquiry into the 1999 parliament shootings on Wednesday again demanded that chief suspect Nairi Hunanian be transferred from the high-security jail of the national security ministry into another location.
The multi-party commission highlighted long-running allegations that Hunanian and his jailed henchmen receive secret instructions from the ministry officials on how to hide the truth about the parliament massacre.
Military prosecutors investigating the shock terrorist attack have denied the allegations and resisted previous calls for Hunanian’s relocation to the Nubarashen prison in Yerevan. They have argued that the leader of the armed gang that burst into the parliament on October 27, 1999 will be better guarded at the main detention site of the former Armenian branch of the Soviet-era KGB.
The calls for Hunanian’s transfer reflect a widespread belief that the investigators have failed to identify real masterminds of the murder of former prime minister Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament speaker Karen Demirchian and six other officials.
The chief gunman has maintained during his one-year trial that the decision to storm the National Assembly was entirely his.
An ad hoc commission of the Armenian parliament overseeing the official inquiry into the 1999 parliament shootings on Wednesday again demanded that chief suspect Nairi Hunanian be transferred from the high-security jail of the national security ministry into another location.
The multi-party commission highlighted long-running allegations that Hunanian and his jailed henchmen receive secret instructions from the ministry officials on how to hide the truth about the parliament massacre.
Military prosecutors investigating the shock terrorist attack have denied the allegations and resisted previous calls for Hunanian’s relocation to the Nubarashen prison in Yerevan. They have argued that the leader of the armed gang that burst into the parliament on October 27, 1999 will be better guarded at the main detention site of the former Armenian branch of the Soviet-era KGB.
The calls for Hunanian’s transfer reflect a widespread belief that the investigators have failed to identify real masterminds of the murder of former prime minister Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament speaker Karen Demirchian and six other officials.
The chief gunman has maintained during his one-year trial that the decision to storm the National Assembly was entirely his.