Suren Khachatrian: If someone attacks your house, what will you do?

“Please familiarize yourself with the application and you will see that an armed attack was made on the governor’s house. If an armed attack is made on your house, what will you do? You will defend yourself, won’t you? This fact is painful because the victim was a young man… It is a regrettable fact. But the incident is even more regrettable in itself,” Syunik governor Suren Khachatrian said in response to “168 Hours” paper’s question about the cause of the June 1 shooting outside his house in the city of Goris.

S. Khachatrian refused to answer any other questions. He did not say whether he intends to continue holding the post of Syunik governor after the end of the preliminary investigation.

Let us remind you that former candidate for Goris mayor Avetik Budaghian was killed in the June 1 shooting outside the house of Syunik province governor Suren Khachatrian. Avetik Budaghian’s brother, a military unit’s commander Artak Budaghian, received a severe gunshot wound and was taken to a military hospital. The governor’s bodyguard Nikolai Abrahamian was also hospitalized.

The Syunik governor’s son Tigran Khachatrian and another bodyguard Zarzand Nikoghosian were arrested on suspicion of murder.

On June 3 Tigran Khachatrian and Zarzand Nikoghosian were charged under three articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code: Article 104 part 2 point 6 (murder), Article 112 part 1 (willful infliction of heavy damage to health), and Article 235 part 1 (illegal procurement, transportation, keeping or carrying of weapons, explosives or explosive devices).

The Synik regional court of general jurisdiction granted the investigatory body’s petition to use two months’ arrest as a measure of restraint against Tigran Khachatrian and Zarzand Nikoghosian. They were transferred to Nubarashen penal institution.