Attackers on ex-presidential candidate receive long prison terms in Nagorno-Karabakh

On July 10, in Nagorno-Karabakh, the court of first instance sentenced Ara Avetyan and Sergey Arutyunyan to 11 and 9 years of imprisonment, respectively, on charges of attempting to assassinate Vitaly Balasanyan, ex-presidential candidate, a deputy of the National Assembly.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the evening of December 29, 2013, an unidentified person attached an explosive device, which was not activated, to a car owned by Vitaly Balasanyan. The bomb was found by the politician himself. On January 3, General Prosecutor's Office of Nagorno-Karabakh announced the detention of two suspects.

The court has pronounced the decision to sentence Ara Avetisyan to 11 years of imprisonment under the Articles of "illegal acquisition, sale, and possession of explosive substances", "illegal manufacture of explosive devices", and "attempted murder".

Sergey Arutyunyan was sentenced under Articles "illegal acquisition, sale, and possession of explosive substances" and "aiding and abetting in attempted murder". This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by officials from the General Prosecutor's Office of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Earlier, at the trial, defendants Ara Avetisyan and Sergey Arutyunyan have admitted their guilt in part. So far, Ara Avetyan has not admitted the charge of attempted murder, and Sergey Arutyunyan the charge of aiding and abetting in attempted murder. Meanwhile, the defendants have admitted their guilt in other crimes imputed to them.