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"EVEN IF IT WAS THE POPE OF ROME"/VIDEO/

Politics


The first trial of the year of former Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Jhangiryan was rather tense. There was no room for some of the people and the officials of the General Department for the Fight against Organized Crime of the Police of RA (6th Department) had taken up the last two rows.

First Deputy Head of the General Department for the Fight against Organized Crime of the Police of RA Karen Babakekhyan was questioned in court today. Babakekhyan has been one of Gagik Jhangiryan’s students and Gagik Jhangiryan was giving him an in-depth lesson for any unknown sub-act of the law.

It was clear from the beginning of the prosecution that the 6th Department had received information from its confidential official two hours before the events according to which an armed group was coming from Echmiazin to Yerevan and that Karen Babakekhyan had ordered 8-10 people to go and arrest them.

The defendants and Gagik Jhangiryan contradicted that, saying that they couldn’t have received any information two hours before the events and that there were more than four cars.

During Karen Babakekhyan’s prosecution, when prosecutor Lusine Sahakyan restated her question a couple of times and tried to find out what they had done with the report of the operative group, which they had to get rid of according to the law on “Investigation”, Karen Babakekhyan got angry and said:

“I’m not afraid of anybody. I refuse to answer that question.”

In response to the prosecutor’s statement that he doesn’t have that right, Jhangiryan said:

“I have every right.”

Later, the witness denied that he had ordered to arrest no matter what and said that Gagik Jhangiryan was arrested for resistance. In fact, let us remind that according to the criminal case, Gagik Jhangiryan had shown resistance in the yard of the 6th Department and not the Argavand intersection.

Gagik Jhangiryan asked why Karen Babakekhyan had ordered the arrest knowing that the Deputy Prosecutor General was in one of the cars, to which Karen Babakekhyan said:

“Why shouldn’t I have arrested you? Even if it was the prime minister, Iwould still arrest him. Even if it was the Pope of Rome, I would still arrest him.” Karen Babakekhyan did not answer the question why Gagik Jhangiryan and his friends were kept in the 6th Department building for 28 hours. Karen Babakekhyan’s prosecution will continue on January 20 at 2 p.m.