Samvel Babayan, a retired army general close to an Armenian opposition alliance, insisted on his innocence Monday as he went on trial on charges of illegally acquiring a surface-to-air rocket ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections.
Babayan also denied separate accusations of money laundering levelled against him. “It’s a lie, it has nothing to do with me,” he told journalists during the first court hearing in the high-profile trial. “You’re going to hear and learn everything.”
Babayan, who was Nagorno-Karabakh’s top military commander from 1993-1993, was detained on March 21 hours after Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) claimed to have confiscated the Russian-made Igla system. The arrest came about two weeks before the parliamentary elections.
Babayan was unofficially affiliated with the opposition ORO alliance led by former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and two other opposition politicians. ORO condemned the criminal case as politically motivated.
The NSS has still not clarified why the once powerful general allegedly sought to get hold of the sophisticated weapon. In a July 13 statement, it said only that the Igla system was transported to Karabakh and hidden near a local village after it was delivered by an Armenian national who was arrested in Georgia later in March. Babayan allegedly promised to pay $50,000 for the delivery.
Six other men are also standing trial with Babayan. One of them, Sanasar Gabrielian, is a longtime friend of Babayan’s who also actively participated in the Karabakh war. Gabrielian rejected the accusations of illegal arms trafficking and possession as a “fabrication” in the courtroom.
Gabrielian’s lawyer told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) last month that his client only “wanted to acquire weapons for the Armenian army by legal means.”
Monday’s court session proved very short with the presiding judge adjourning it until August 28 because of the absence of one of the defense lawyers. Babayan protested against the decision, saying that the judge failed to consult with an “innocent” man like him.
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